CHARLIE HAYES BEESON
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SUMMER
Theres a few things I want to experiment, engage and learn this summer.
- Golden Ratio
- Hand Rendered T`ypography
- Self Initiated Projects (Build up some portfolio work)
- Portfolio of Placement Experience
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Evaluative Statement
Module AD4402 - Evaluative Statement
Throughout this module I aimed to improve my creative ideas and efficiency of working. I wanted to speed up my work process to be able to complete tasks more promptly, something that will be vital when in the industry and important when we come to juggling many projects at once in the second and third year. I also aimed to have more breadth to my idea generation, to have many ideas and see them through to find a best rather than work from one idea. I started all my works by jotting down initial ideas and quick sketches to visualize them before putting them into practice, this got me working from the briefing and by not wasting time testing many ideas digitally I was able to allow myself more time with finer details in the later stages of the project.
I found research helped me understand what the brief was asking me, although I could have done more, and a lot more if it could have been primary. I used basic research skills for most of the briefs because it was with subjects I was already quite familiar with. I did an extensive amount of research for the info graphic where I looked into the current horse meat scandal only to find a large percentage of horses sent to abattoirs were ex racehorses or racehorses who wouldn’t make their owners money. This was an eye opener for me as it happens a lot more local than you think, opening my eyes to the realism of this huge industry. I feel without looking into the links between horsemeat and horse racing my outcome would have been very different having maybe not selected a meat board style design. Something that’s quite controversial when you see the elegance of the horse figure used.
I used illustrator for the outcome of all of my projects although a few, including my heresy postcards also remained hand drawn as this was more appropriate for the style of most window advertisements. I also hand drew my toilet signs before dropping them into illustrator to touch them up. My 5 words 5 drawings were also all hand rendered. As a first project I found it opened my mind to linking things through imagery, design doesn’t necessarily have to be a giveaway, I strongly believe it should make you think giving the viewer some sort of interaction and pleasure from it.
My illustrator skills throughout the module have improved impeccably now being able to do many things I could have only once dreamed of and slowly weaning me away from the photoshop. I’ve also learnt a lot more about typography and how to set it and present work in a more professional manner. I still think I could present some of it more appropriately but this I would put down to time management and allowing myself a bit more time nearer the end of the brief to think about the presentation of my work.
My time management as a whole is pretty good, I tend to start the projects with initial mind maps and sketches of ideas. This means I can get on with it promptly; it also gives me more time with the final design and process of creating it. I have managed to meet all the deadlines and complete all the work on time.
The quality of my work is quite high as all of my final outcomes I present in a clean and appropriate manner as though it was for a client, something that will benefit me when working in the industry. If there are multiple pieces of work for a brief, I tend to have strong links between them such as colour, this is shown in the seven deadly sins project.
My favorite brief we were given to work on was the info graphic. It was fun to work in pairs for a change although it enlightened me to the importance of keeping contact and both playing an equal part of it. I also really enjoyed the seven deadly sins where I began to look at typefaces as having more of an expression and personality.
I think I’ve got quite a simple and minimal style to my work, as I like clean lines and crisp shapes however I’m still yet to truly define a style as there’s so many things I still want to try. I have shown attempts at a hand rendered style whether through drawing with pen and paper like the heresy postcards or through illustrator with the info graphic.
From this module I have learnt to believe in the work I produce and also learnt that once a brief is finished I can still make adjustments if there’s something not quite right. I’ve also learnt the importance of design being legible and not completely unrealistic. Having sat through the critiques I have learnt from others as well, a main point being check your work over, and get other people to check it too. This will minimize mistakes and the time spent having to re adjust little bits of the designs.
I think my weakness as a designer is probably my awareness to the world, something I need to change to become successful. I can’t live a blinkered life and need to be open to different views and opinions, as I’m not always going to be able to choose my projects when working in the industry. Having more of a positive attitude about the work I do will change the way I look at a lot of things and encourage me more to produce better works and take more risks.
Overall I have enjoyed the module having taught me skills in process, presentation, time management and legibility. My skills with the Adobe Creative Suite software package have improved infinitely. Looking through my work on the blog and through my sketchbook it’s interesting to see stuff I produced at the beginning of course to now seeing how my work was almost quite rushed and lazy where as it is now quite minimal yet effective.
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Info-Graphic
In pairs, working with Tom Peers, we chose to focus on a recent issue - the horse meat scandal. We then thought about different aspects of horses and looked at facts. Statistically we noticed Horse Racing had shockingly high numbers of unknown whereabouts, being in Cheltenham we decided we would focus on both of these. and try and find the missing links.
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A pangram is a sentence which uses every letter of the alphabet at least once. I chose the pangram:
“Heavy boxes perform quite waltzes and jigs.”
I used the X’s to represent lace and pattern on the figure whilst the shoes are made up of a Jig and a Waltz. The heavy box is sitting on the figure in a very bold manner in contrast with the light and fluffy feel to the figure.
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There are multiple ways you can look at a single image, and you can tell the reader which way you want them to view it with a little narrative. This is a ‘cute’ image of a dog, it seems content and cosy. With a clever use of wording it could also represent abuse or maybe it’s on its last legs.
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Expressive Typography
Chaos - Rockwell
Lost - Bodoni
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The Seven Deadly Sins in Letterform.
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Got a little more involved with landscape photography over christmas. I experimented a bit more with Filters and Shutter Speed.
Really want a gradient filter, I may then get a good sky…
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Illustration for an artical in the Guardian (19/11/2012).
Article below:
“GRIEF IN GAZA FOUR CHILDREN KILLED IN SINGLE ATTACK AS ASSAULT INTENSIFIES
At least 11 member of one family, including five women and four children, were killed when Israel bombed a house in Gaza City yesterday as the five-day-old war claimed more civilian lives with no sign of a let-up in the intense bombardment.
The air strike flattened the home of the Dalou family in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City, causing the biggest death toll in a single incident since the offensive began last wednesday.
The bodies of the children were pulled from the rubble and taken to the morgue at the Shifa hospital. The dead also included an 8-year-old woman.
Ismael Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister, described the deaths as an “ugly massacre” and it military wing, al-Quassam Brigades, said: “The Massacre of the Dalou Family will not pass without punishment”
Diggers at the scene of the explosion were scooping rubble from flattened buildings as rescuers tried to locate survivors. Witnesses said there were chaotic scenes as the dead and injured were brought to the Shifa hospital, which has been on emergency footing since the start of Operation Pillar of Defence.”
- Harriet Sherwood, Jerusalem
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Using stereotypical gender ideas to re design the toilet symbols for doors in these locations.
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Herecy Postcards.
Bringing humour into a simple advertisement.
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A twist on O2’s signal troubles.
I added an ‘n’ to the o2, making no2, which is a twist on all the network issues they have recently incurred. I added a signal bar in the top left hand corner; this is to enforce the idea behind the image. I think it looks better without the signal bars however the message might not be portrayed correctly and the purpose might be missed without it.
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Lurpak’s new advert drew me closer with the way it spoke the movement, and use of bold colours. Designed by Wieden + Kennedy London there team of designers have taken the “Lurpak Campaign” a step further than Saatchi and Saatchi!
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better ideas
how do you better your ideas?
creative thinking? conceptual thoughts? both. these come as part of the as part of PLAY. playful thoughts and no big ideas.
keeping everything broad is key. if you can have 10+ ideas initially take them all through to the final stages, or take them as far as you possibly can!
constant reflection is also important, you will naturally forget about things but if you keep referring back these will remain fresh in the back of your mind.
THE VOID
the void is the mid stages of your project. in this period you should radically change the manner/form you work in to get more ideas inspiration and give more of a depth to your work. you never know if something you didn’t initially think would work, is actually brilliant.
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simple inspiration (29/10/12)
a series of posters by designer, albert exergian.
the posters are based on television programmes and the images represent the programme or the name.
it’s made of simple shapes and block colour. colour is limited to a small palette, and mostly made up of different tones. none of the shapes are sharp edged, creating a soft image.