ITAP- Lesson 9

The Novice to Expert Scale- Hubert Drafus

I would rate myself on this scale to be a Proficient, as throughout my work I have shown good practice and always manage to deliver a good solution to the brief. The solution is always shown to be of a good standard and I present my work well to a group or assessor. I always consider the target audience through my work and use visuals of other artists/designers work to clearly identify where my inspiration came from. I work through the use of mind maps and sketches to gain interesting ideas. Some examples of my work are shown further below.

I have always been interested in Graphic Design. Typography and looking at different ways to communicate to an audience is my specialty. I believe now that a suitable career for me would be in the advertising industry because I work best through my emotions. Creating a solution through persuasive techniques is something I work well with. For instance, recently, I created a storyboard for a TV advert against domestic violence. The delivered presentation was very well received and I had so many intriguing ideas for it. Of course it being my first year in university this all could change, but at the moment this is what I feel more confident in.

My Sketchbook Examples...

Brief- Design/ update a campaign

using a existing client.

My Researching (just one of my many pages
of good relevant research)



Storyboarding one of many ideas.



Looking at different ways to use type. In this
case looking at re-stylising Women's Aid.

Looking into typography digitally, focusing on
colour and what works well with what.

Then how I presented this particular piece of work. Using
the best idea, storboarding it much bigger so it's easy for
my audience to see.

My Favourite Expert

Although I am a graphics student, I have always been inspired by Martin Parr’s work because I love his innovative way of documenting the culture of the UK and abroad. My favourite works of his are his photographs of the British, particularly the seaside resorts of Brighton. He highlights our foibles and defaces us. His work could be seen as offensive, but I believe that is the beauty of his picture taking and there is truth in the images. He also takes on the stereotypes of the countries he visits. I found his blog to be very useful; http://www.martinparr.com/blog/. I find Martin Parr influential because of his satirical approach.

Bibliography

• http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/cruelandtender/images/parr_commonsense2_lg.jpg
• http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html
• http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/wow/0abebepleur.jpg

ITAP- Lesson 8

Peter Kennard

How Text Changes the Meaning of the Image
An image can alter a person’s feelings drastically whether it be for political reasons or emotional. For instance; taking a campaign like Domestic Abuse the poster or advert needs to gain an audiences’ disgust and be thought provoking to be effective. Adding text to the image can somewhat change a person’s reaction to the image in a different way. For example; political activists use humour to appeal to an audience. Photomontage artist Peter Kennard takes iconic images and merges them together to shock the audience even though they can be seen as humorous. However, to gain a better perception of an issue, text can change an image. Photographer Jim Goldberg took photographs of residents in a hotel and runaways on the street. He then got them to handwrite comments about themselves. The comments vary from fears and dreams to perceptions and illusions about themselves or their life. The one particular photograph that captured my attention was the image of the girl who looks skinny enough to be anorexic at a distance, but you look closely and see a scar, you then read the text and she describes her past and how her family hurt her “the fucked up ass hole shot me when I was 12 years old” (spelling mistake intended- her grammar). The message therefore deepens in what only can be described as disgust as you realise the girl is homeless not by her own doing and why she is indeed thin.

Jim Goldberg

John Heartfield

How Text Influences our Emotions
Text adds a story or feeling to an image. The text can alter a person’s prospective, particularly if the image is quite funny yet the text is a deep, political issue. For example; photomontage artist John Heartfield took on satirising Hitler. He made comic scenes that involved Hitler and added text to illustrate the scene in a political view. His most memorable work is "Hurrah, the Butter Is Finished!" here a typical German family are sitting at a table eating iron. Iron which ranges from weaponry to bicycle handles. The caption below the image states that “iron has always made a nation strong, butter and lard have only made the people fat”. Therefore, the image becomes disturbing and thought provoking. Changing our emotions can change our views on a subject. The images that use text aren’t always dark though, another artist that uses this concept is the brilliant Graham Rawle, he also is a photomontage artist that worked for the Weekend Guardian, he was the creator of the Lost Consonants series. The series was a text and image word play where he would take a sentence that has one crucial letter removed which alters the meaning. These were engaging as the reader would try and work out what letter was missing and are also humorous because the images were created from the sentences.

Graham Rawle

Bibliography

• http://www.grahamrawle.com/
• http://version1.itsnicethat.com/images/77.jpg
• http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/2.html
• http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2027/2266333168_c97b7a424f_o.jpg
• http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/photos/sg_2006_peter_kennard.jpg
• http://www.peterkennard.com/