Photoframe research - Argos online

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search/searchTerms/PHOTO+FRAMES.htm

Photoframe research - Wilkinsons online.

Using Wilko's wesbite, I have found various frames as an example of how frames are displayed online. 

The brief description that Wilko gives about their products includes the name of the frame, the type of material that it has been created from or to mimic, and also the size of the frame.  

Certain frames display a background that is are very unattractive, but can be quite eye catching, but not in a elegant sense, as if they'd appeal more to children, or a more juvenile market. 

These two frames which I have selected appear more up market and high end in Wilko's range, it appears as if the tarket market for this frame would be of an older generation, due to the person found in the background image. This can be very bias and subjective, as in theory, this style of frame could work in a general house with typical decor, but the background of this has set a completely different tone of voice to the frame itself.  

This silver effect frame has again set a specific tone of voice to the frame due to the fact it has included a very feminine, pink flower as the background image. Due to the background image, you'd imagine this frame to be found in an older woman's bedroom, or living room.

This has given me a big insight into how the background image found in a frame can instantly subject the target market of the pieces, when in reality, any person could buy the photo frame.

Shepard Fairey Hope poster Illustrator research:

 

Shepard Fairey, the California based graphic designer and skater, shot to instant fame upon his creation for Barack Obama's election campaign when the designer created the famous 'Hope' posters for the President's election.

His designs are known all around the world as the helped massively in Obama's election.

The New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl called the poster "the most efficacious American political illustration since 'Uncle Sam Wants You'".

Obama directly contacted Fairey in an attempt to prise his for his work:    "I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of my campaign. The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can change the status-quo. Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign. I am privileged to be a part of your artwork and proud to have your support. I wish you continued success and creativity.– Barack Obama, February 22, 2008"

I feel Shepard Fairey's work is so effective due to the minimalism of his design and the use of few colours, which gives an emotive impact on the viewer. The colours were chosen to relate to America's patriotism, in the red white and blue style, and the font, Gotham, instantly blew up as everyone recognised it for this piece of work.
This style of illustration is what Fairey is renowned for, and the simplicity in his portraiture design, which signifies Barack Obama, as a powerful, trustworthy and wise man, is one of the factors which lead him to being America's modern day president.

Fairey's design has been replicated in many instances due to it's simplicity, but the true image will always be remembered due to it's impact on the American audience, and the emotive response this simple piece of minimal design design achieved.
Fairey's original illustration poster makes use of many effects which benefit illustrations, it has clearly been created digitally, using few lines and solid block shapes, I could carry this method forward when creating my poster, in an attempt to create a minimal and effective series of posters. 

Steve Powers Illustrator research:

Steve Powers is a famous sign writer in Brooklyn NewYork.

"Stephen J. Powers (born May 25, 1968) is a New York City artist who at one time wrote graffiti in Philadelphia and New York under the name ESPO ("Exterior Surface Painting Outreach")."

He has a notorious history in street graffiti art, but in modern times, he more commercially creates signs.

Powers can sometimes use minimal colours in his creations but still get a message across very effectively, it is useful to me to see his designs as I must create an effective two colour piece of design, and also typography for my OUGD403 project. 

As you can see, Powers' signs are beautiful, eye catching and emotive, he does an amazing job at conveying his messages using typography. 

I suppose in a way, Powers is the American Banksy of type. 

Fabio Fragiocomo - Creative advertising lecture

After attending a lecture presented Fabio Fragiocomo, I feel I have learnt about forms of advertising and specific renown adverts in the world that could have influenced my ides in previous projects.

Specifically, this poster based around animal cruelty and the use of fur would have benefitted me in my previous newspaper project as the style of it is already strikingly similar to the format of design that I went for.

I feel the two tone format of red and black colours in this design is very similar to the pieces which I created surrounding the newspaper project, and in retrospect, it would have been very useful for me to know about this design in that project as I could have used it as inspiration to show how it directly influenced my designs.

Edward Ardizzone Illustrator research:

Edward Ardizzone is an artist who's name I picked up in Matt Hodgson's lecture on Wednesday. This illustrator particularly stood out to me due to the juxtapose found in his work, I found it very shocking.

"Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone,  was an English artist and creator of children's books. For Tim All Alone (Oxford, 1956), which he wrote and illustrated, Ardizzone won the inaugural Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject."

Ardizzone was massively famous for his endearing, juvenile illustrations, sketched in such a way that they denote playfulness, innocence and childlike emotions. He was celebrated as a master of children's illustrations.

The next part shocked me massively, as the artist was known widely for creating this beautiful, humble pieces designed for children's eyes, he then, during the second World War's period, turned his hand to being a war time illustrator.


"In World War II Ardizzone worked as an full-time, official war artist assigned to the War Office by the War Artists' Advisory Committee. He first served with the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium before being evacuated back to Britain. In January 1942 he recorded the arrival of American troops in Northern Ireland.An extensive collection of his war pictures, as well as his wartime diaries, can be seen at The Imperial War Museum." 

As you can see, his war time work has such a different tone to his previous children's illustrations, which is an incredible feat of skill in my eyes. Ardizzone's war time pieces make use of very mundane and unilluminated colours, to set the sinister tone of war time conditions. His illustrations aren't even in the same child like style as previously, and now hold a very emotive stance which grips the viewer.

Printing my final typeface

After the induction to the Digital print room, I was ready to print my final typeface. 

I decided I wanted to print onto a professional, sophisticated cartridge type stock as I felt it would be very fitting for my Art Deco style typeface, and that the off white colour would fit the purpose of my font.

I was very pleased with the final print of my typeface, and the colours of the black worked very well against the texture of the stock.

My typeface looks very stern and solid in this form, as the strokes of black stand out very well and have a sense of dominance on the page.
The black border around the edge of the A2 page sets a boundary for the design and adds to the art deco style of my font.

Illustration lecture COP:

CoP1 Lecture 4: Chronologies 2: Illustration

We had a lecture from the lecturer Matt Hodgson, who teaches illustration. 

He explained the fundamentals of illustration, and filled in a lot of the blanks that I was unaware that illustration covered.

I took many notes of illustrators I found interesting, and whom I would be interested into looking at in the future. Certain ones related to current projects, and others fitted my taste in art & design.

Type as image research:

I am choosing to research the use of type as image to encourage myself to be more experimental when creating my own type as image poster, as I am currently struggling for ideas.

These are various type faces which have been used in-conjunction with each other to create beautiful flows and pieces of graphical type.

PBS

This use of type as image in the PBS logo makes use of a face which is found inside the initial letter P, which is very interesting, as it is still readable as type, yet has much deeper meaning.
The collection of the five white dots are very enticing as I am unsure what they represent, but they add to the type very well.

KISS

Kiss' logo in this instance uses a border around the letter which flows through and connects each individual glyph to one and other. The font is a very interesting one as the K that usually has very strong, sharp lines on the legs of the glyph, but in this instance the letters Z are very stern and direct.
AVANT GARDE

The Avant Garde logo uses very firm, straight lines to revolve off each other in a synchronised way, such as the line on the V and the 2nd A.
The most easterly line on the N works in conjunction with the T where the N has added a kind of interior serif to work with the ascender/capline of the T.
The tracking of the primary G & A has been reduced massively to make both letters overlap in a very artistic, almost art deco style way. 

This seems a more modern piece of a simple example of type as image, making use of just a singular vector colour.
The flourishes at the end of each line work beautiful with the typefaces' style, and the way the E flourishes off Westerly that is then accompanied by the flourish located underneath.
This entire piece of design works beautifully, and the tone of the whole piece is very emotive. I feel the type works in contrast, but very effectively with the wallpaper texture in the background.

Investigation into minimal colour Graphic design

I have chosen to research into pieces of graphic design which make use of dual colour, as for project OUGD403 we must create a 2 colour piece of design.

I have discovered these two pieces of design which makes use of only two colours which don't include the paper stock. These two designs have been made for music sheets, to aid people learn how to play music. The covers of these issues are clearly very effective, punchy and bright. 

I am amazed how vibrant these two pieces stand out and are that effective when they're only two colours. 

                  

These dual colour posters work very effectively and appear a lot more detailed than the previous two. The design for the Source Code movie poster is very creative, it is clear that this poster has been screen printed, with the cyan underneath and the black tone on top, which then works in conjunction with the newsprint type paper.

The Citroen poster which relates to 1975, and in this instance the designer has used numbers as image. It has been digital printed onto an off white paper. It has more than two colours which have been used, so obviously isn't a dual colour poster. 

Semiotic critical review: Sacred Spirit

Evaluating a piece of design using the language of semiotics. 

"Sign - Something that communicates a message

Signifier - Something that gives meaning

Signified - Denotation - A literal understanding of the message

               - Connotation - A cultural understanding of the message

By recycling and re-using signifiers we understand what things mean and stand for automatically through their connotations. When something has lots of connotations the sign can turn into a signifier, this is called a Myth.

Signs

Icon - Resembles what the sign is referring too from the perspective of the drawer

Index - A sign that infers a relationship to something else

Symbol - A sign is obviously and literally standing for something else."

This piece of design has been created by a Spanish illustrator named Baimu (http://www.behance.net/gallery/Sacred-spirit/5165617)

He gives a description of his work:

"In this case I wanted to merge the world of Native American spiritual and mystical legends, with a polygonal aesthetics, more typical of the early 90's and 3D video games. For the head I used a font itself, called Roundone."

The initial sketch of Baimu's illustration is clearly a very rough sketch, but it is evident how he has developed the sketch further into his final creation. 

The star of David located above the character's head is a sign, which is recognised all over the world and has very strong connotations to Judaism. I am unsure why the artist has used this symbol in his piece as the implications from this sign are associated with religion and bare no relevance to his illustration.

The artist has stated that this piece is based on "the world of Native American spiritual and mystical legends", but despite that, the deceased animal's skull with the horns has always denoted to me the idea of Native America, and the ancestry associated with it. The animal skull working in conjunction with the rest of the character's face acts as an index due to the images connecting to Native American legend

The disposition of the American character looking down the mountainous landscape is rather emotive, and signifies to me power, and authority over the Chieftain's lands, this is an index sign as it represents the man's relationship to the setting. 

The use of the Roundone font in this piece relates to how the artist claims this design relates to 'mystical legends', the font is very fitting for this piece and denotes to me levels of majesticness but in the aspect, the font has connotations which relate to the Americas. In this form, the font wouldn't be fitting to represent any other culture, which makes it a connotation.