My Journey: October 2010

Sunday, 31 October 2010

ITAP- Lesson 4

Iteration

Is the act of repeating something over and over again. Designers use this method to improve their work because if something is repeated and evaluated better ideas always emerge. It is the intellegent steps towards improvement. The motion in which to repeat one's work is to think, plan, do and evaluate if these steps are repeated more ideas spring up. Iteration is all about trial and error, finding better.

Dyson Prototypes

One example of this is the creative inventor Mr James Dyson who invented the Dual Cyclone technology and the first bagless vacuum cleaner. He took risks, made mistakes and used his frustration as a fuel for creativity and solving problems. He made 5,126 prototypes within the space of 5 years before he concluded his invention.

I stumbled across this designers work while researching, his name is Dan Avenell. His work represents problem solving and creative play, you can see some of his commissioned work in his biography and when i took a look at his sketchbook i was very much impressed by the detail of his work and how comic book like it is. One of the comissions he had was for Courvoisier (alcohol), where the finished ad was used in magazine and on billboards. The targetted audience i believe to be is men because of the naked woman wrapped around the bottle, also the general public by the billboard ads. The media used on the final outcome was photography. The white text on black is clear and the type is very grand. Advert has sexual persuasiveness about it. This is very inspiring to me.

The Design

Final Outcome

Reflection

"If you can't find the right answer look for the right question"

When it comes to reflection, being the practioner I will need to engage and ask questions about my work. Self crtitism is needed and annotation to understand or remember my thinking. Visual and textual language have advantages and disadvantages they are very powerful working together. Here is some work for a project I did. The brief was to illustrate the word "Fusion".

I decided to look at fusing animals together, like forced breeding. My annotation in my RVJ isn't very clear it tells me my thinking process and what I did or going to do next. However, I havn't written any ideas down or disadvantages or advantages about the designs. I also need to show how my work links together. In the future I will make little but relevant annotation; I will also use mind maps and discuss the different communication needed for the right audience.

Development Work

Design Ideas

Overall Image

Bibliography

ITAP- Lesson 3

Legible ie. Creative in first impression

Good Legibility

Smoking advertisements via NHS, are always very shocking and make you feel ill after seeing them. Especially the notorious fish hook advertisement. The one advert that really stuck with me was the advertisement below, as it related to me (me being the child and asking my nan and grandad to stop- it's still a big worry now although only my nan did eventually stop). I believe if anything people should stop smoking for their children and not just for themselves. This advert portrays this, the child-like handwriting really effects the audience because, especially if your a smoker, you see what your child is thinking. The text layout is slanted which in this case doesn't matter because it is as thought a child has wrote it. The layout is also effective by the use of child bedroom wallpaper and the huge spider below the text- this relates to most audiences who have had to get the big spider out the room. The type face of colour is easy to read on top of the background. Even more so, the factual information stated below grabs the audiences attention. This advert has well presented persuasive techniques. The helpline number below being the major item needed in this advert has been put last which works because its the last thing you read and the first thing you need.

Bad Legibility

This is possibly the worst perfume advertisement I've seen. It fails to target a wide female audience. I feel as though it targets Thierry Mugler fans only. The advert looks like if you try this perfume you will look like me 'an alien' when the advert should suggest women need to buy this perfume to look as good as me (then have a beautiful woman on the ad). The advert does not stick to the traditional values of perfume ads, they took a big risk with portraying this scary faced woman with bad hair which i believe they decided to extend her hair to fill in the negative space. It's just wierd and also naked? One good thing about this advert is the typography i do like how the text is displayed with her hand, although, it is very hard to see with the white colour. Then again, it looks like the sign from Star Trek.

Hierarchy ie. What do we see or hear first

Good Visual Hierechy

The most antispated film of this year didn't even need to have a film poster. However, the many posters that were created were effective to the audience. The intention of each design were to promote the new film and recapture the audiences' imagination. The poster below shows most of the old characters centred in the middle and around the number '3', and the new characters nearer the edge. This itself shows the hierarchy and importance of these characters in the film, whether its deliberate or not. The intended audience were for the younger generation and the parents too. Even more so the-now-grown-up people who watched the other films. Having watched the film, I feel as though this is more correct. The first thing i saw when looking at this poster was the massive type of the number '3'. The typeface is so familar to me that if the poster was completly black I'd know what film it is for. Same with this poster, the design didn't need the 'Toy Story' the '3' was efficient enough because of the well known characters surrounding it. The poster also adds alot of humour.

Bad Visual Hierachy

A bad poster for a very bad film in my opinion. The trailer camptured my attention when this poster did not. The intention of this poster is not easy to see, we have a bad actor looking cocky at the camera. Do we want to see this? The first thing i saw when looking at this poster were his eyes and cheap grin, which although should make you laugh/smile/get interested, fails to appeal. The type face of the title, is ok nice and bold and the colour white it is easy to see. However, the very dull and stupid 'Check it! This fall', has no persuasive effect at all. The intended audience must be Dane Cook fans or DIY fans because of the slightly blurry shelves in the background, i cannot see this having any immediate effect on anybody else. If i saw this poster on a wall its that bad i'd probably tear it off. :)

Bibliography

ITAP- Lesson 2

I believe that the two main principles i will need to put into my practice is researching information and artists, and understanding the target audience. I will investigate and collect information around a subject. Meanwhile, I will take my camera everywhere i go and start taking photographs of everything and anything. I will collect anything that i find visually interesting because if i do not use something for a project now i could use the information in a future project. In particular, I will collect different type faces; from packaging, rubbish, magazines, newspapers etc. In addition, i will do observational drawings. I will use varies sketchbooks not just for drawings but for notes and sticking stuff in.

I will also take into account the role of the audience in my practice. Depending on the project or subject; i will research and explore other artists work and how they have used character designs to appeal to a specific audience. I will look at the commercial side when developing logos, type and characters. I will also look at the child-like manner in which my drawings will have to be when the targeted audience is for the younger generation. If i can understand and acknowledge an audience i will be able to deliver the specific communication whether it's an advertisement to give to charity or an advertisement for awareness. I believe if i specify a project with a particular audience i will go far whether its informing, explaining or persuading.

Paul Davis is just one of the many illustrators who is obesessed with researching; he retains information and takes photographs to help get a deeper understanding of the subject.
Mark Wigan takes rubbings and photographs weird stuff; which is influential to me.
Saul Steinberg has influenced me to not care what i collect and also to be inspired by everything as he is inspired by everything. Like; children's drawings, egyptian art, embroidery etc.

ITAP- Lesson 1

Notions of Originality

The intention of Andy Warhol's Marilyn is to stimulate interest using bright colours and rejoicing his status in Pop Art. The composition of Marilyn's head is chosen, as the targeted audience does not need to see any other part of the actress to know who she is. The image works for people of a financial status as Marilyn was rich and famous. The image could be seen as a social comment to illustrate how Marilyn became a brand and not a person. She is still seen today as a social icon. It is also interesting how the image was made after her death. Another targeted audience could be strictly for her fans as Andy Warhol as immobilised her which always makes the audience think about her when they see the image. Andy Warhol was best known for his mass-production of works; therefore, Marilyn could be seen as a personal boost of his works. The Pop Artist's image is original, it is no surprise that other artists have re-created and paid homage to Warhol. For instance, Mr Brainwash and Matteo Bertolio re-styled and created the image but with different characters to target the media.

Can Recontexualised Ideas be Contemporary

Mr Brainwash's Madonna was created to also stimulate interest as the iconic image of Marilyn has been transferred to Madonna who is an iconic singer. The same bright colours and composition of character is used. As the image is for an album cover and mass production the image represents that of what Andy Warhol does. The image could be seen on behalf of Andy Warhol for the artist and also on behalf of the actress for Madonna. The image works well because Madonna's poise is nearly identical of those of Marilyn's. It differentiates with Madonna's gap in between her teeth and mole. The album cover targets the fans of Madonna and also it is a greatest hits album so the cover needed to be a wow factor ie. Iconic image for an iconic album. The public needs to have prior knowledge of singer to know and appreciate who it is. The image could be seen as contemporary by the way the artist has introduced text with screen-printing. The image also looks a lot more realistic then Warhol's by the photograph and sharpness of it and the way the bright colours are neater around the lips and eyes.

Bibliography