GRAPHICS POSTER

WEEK 5 DAY 3

Using what we had learnt about graphics in terms of faces and text in the previous two days, the task was now to combine them in order to create a poster of our possible future involved in graphics. 

There were many different ways people went about completing this task using various media and different levels of simplicity.

Basic colour and recognisable shapes were very bold ways of covering space on the composition.

The combination of text and image are often very successful in that it is such a simple formula but it gives the eye enough to look at and to be interested by.

I liked this because it is very bold black on white however the introduction of the linear colour adds a sense of depth to the piece- something I would like to incorporate into my future work.

Using pens and permanent markers is a very slow process when covering the majority of an A2 size poster so I didn't manage to finish my poster within the set time.

I focused heavily on completing the typography of my poster during the set time using a basic black/ white colour scheme.

Above are my initials against the black/ white stripes of colour in the background. Depending on the colour of the background I adapted the letters or parts of the letters to contrast the background. At the end it means there is not a definite colour for the whole of the text but a varying colour scheme to contrast which is something I admire and would use again.

This is my finished poster, I feel I successfully replicated a similar style to that of the 'King Krule' '6 feet beneath the moon' album cover. I love the contrast which a simple black and white colour scheme creates. Although perhaps additional colour would really bring out another aspect helping to improve the tone or general impressiveness of the poster.

I edited the poster on the computer looking at how the poster would look in different colours. I only used a simple windows editor so I need to get hold of 'Photoshop' to really boost the successfulness of my editing. Another aspect of this piece I like is that it is not so obvious what it is but when you look at it long enough you can realise what it shows.

REFLECTION
This was an enjoyable task, I enjoy creating posters and would consider any project like this to be in favour of the set of skills that I possess. Looking at other peoples work again opens your mind to new processes and ways of going about making the poster. Essentially I chose a plain and simple method of carrying out this task with the black and white colour combination; so in future I plan to make it more complex and visually powerful through the inclusion of colour in the design. I think the strongest part of my piece is the text which is very neat in comparison to the fairly rugged colouring of the body, face and suite that I have adopted. I feel that I have successfully made recognisable objects such as the 'Oscar turned V&A award' with messy black pens toning creating an almost shimmering shining effect between the hands. Another thing I would like to try is a different media such as charcoal on a larger scale when doing a poster in black and white. My main aim for next time I carry out a task similar to this I will probably use paint for rich colour or computer programmes for neatness and precision.

Images: Authors own

CHC



GRAPHICS: TEXT

WEEK 5 DAY 2

A quick task carried out here involved creating letters from the strangest possible ways, finding connections which would not usually be made for example the letter 'p' created by creases in the paper on the image above.

Using charcoal and drawing an impression of various objects under the paper created strange patterns and formations, I outlined the letters 'k' and 'm'.

Chucking pens at the pens and drawing using my little finger only created some interesting shapes, a '20' is just visible highlighted lightly with the green.

Grabbing a fist full of pastels and scribbling led to the creation of many letters.

Here I tore bits of the paper which created a 'w' which I then highlighted in blue.

Using scissors I sliced across the paper randomly then highlighting certain tears with green pastel. 

Here is a more messy piece where I just stuck down random things including charcoal chippings on glue which created an 'm'. On the right describes the methods I used (in blue) or could have used (in red) in this process.

I thought my charcoal impression technique was the strongest; so increased the scale to give me enough shapes to highlight with red pen in order to generate a whole alphabet's worth of letters.

I liked the seletape circles impression under charcoal so I further adapted this circular shape to create another alphabet based entirely on the curves of a circle.

After, I looked at a graphic text book and was inspired by various typefaces so I photocopied a few then using a light box I started to trace over the necessary letters in order to complete my idea. This is incomplete but when finished will have my initials clearly at top with my DOB below then below 'methodical'- one of my defining characteristics.

I finished the piece later using fine line pens. I feel that it is generally strong but could still be improved for example, the 'c' could be neater as a curve and the leaves could look more like leaves.

REFLECTION

At first this appeared to be a simple task which essentially it is however when you look at it from a more profound aspect, you realise the true depth of the thought and amount of invention that goes into the process of developing a font. I feel I created some strange ways to create shapes that could be letters however I feel that potentially I could be more inventive with stranger ideas in the future which should help generate more originality. Today I used the tasks well to experiment thoroughly, delving into texts new and strange. Using this experimentation as a base I would like to further enhance my skills creating text simply through practice. I really like how imagination and out of the box thinking is a key part of the creative process which has been heavily emphasised to me so far this week and I am striving to use my imagination skills as much as possible in the future.

 

Images: Authors own.

 

CHC

GRAPHICS AND CREATIVE THINKING

WEEK 5 DAY 1

Using a media we would not usually use we drew the ear of someone sitting nearby. I chose charcoal and after the time limit for the task the whole class placed all works together on the floor in order to see how others had gone about the task.

I drew my friend Matt's ear which is one left from bottom right. I found charcoal easy to manipulate in order to generate tone although it was messy.

It is clear that the most striking ears are the ones done in another colour or where a pitch black tone contrasts against a near white tone.

Another task involved experimental face drawings; (from top left going clockwise), 1) Using biro whilst blind I attempted to draw a friend. 2) Using permanent marker and without this pen leaving the page I attempted to do a self portrait from memory. 3) Using charcoal and my weaker hand. 4) Using ink pen and drawing with my mouth. 

I thought drawing using my mouth was a very off the wall approach to portraiture and surprisingly I am actually quite pleased with my final outcome with its jittering lines but I think I like its simplicity and accuracy in scale.

This is a bit of a mess when you consider that it was supposed to be the face of the person sitting opposite me however, if you look more closely you can see recognisable parts of the face scattered around; for example the hairline is very distinctive.

The next task involved collage where again thinking out of the box we had to create a face using cut outs and various face parts from different people/ animals within magazines.

Using a viewfinder we had to select a square of our piece that we thought was most interesting. I liked the lion nose and whiskers combined with Keira Knightly's lips smoking a cigarette with Sir Patrick Stewarts (AKA Professor X from the X-men) wrinkly neck.

I started another drawing but increasing the scale of the chosen square. The reason for increasing the scale is because a lot of graphic design involves working at a large scale where any finished product can either be further increased or suitably decreased in scale.

REFLECTION

I found todays tasks very eye opening in that I really began to appreciate how thinking out of the box can aid a graphic designer in discovering the new and original. The drawings I made weren't the strongest however I feel fairly confident in my ability to accurately represent form through various medias now; trying charcoal is something I rarely do and I found it to be a method very capable of attaining great toning with ease. Even at this early stage I am very interested in the graphic pathway so I need to really put full effort into all upcoming tasks and research the topic to look for further inspiration. If I could pick a weakness from my work today I would say that I could improve by working at a much faster pace, simply practising this will improve my accuracy whilst working at speed.

 

Images: Authors own.

 

CHC

KEMISTRY GALLERY

WEEK 4 DAY 3

The Seymour and Milton Poster exhibition at the Kemistry gallery in Shoreditch was a great place to see find some classic inspiration in the form of fairly retro but often simplistic graphic posters. 

This is possibly my favourite poster where unexpected colours have been used alongside text to create a recognisable form with in my opinion a lot of character.

Some of the colour use was bright and attractive and the background being basic squares was very visually pleasing despite being so simple.

There is a lot going on here but I really like the old style 'entertainment posters' and the inaccurate scale is compelling.

This a section of 8 posters on the wall, many of the posters have been created using different media types. They have a sense of childishness which I find quite intriguing.

Above: a page from one of the comic like books held on the wall of the gallery room. This is a very simple idea yet again but there is a lot to look at and its engaging.

This is another of my favourites, I love how effectively the atmosphere  has been created with smaller scaled weapons attacking the character. It is almost as if they are mental images revealed by the smoke from the cigarette and this would make sense seeing as the character looks a bit paranoid of someone attempting to attack him, perhaps he is a gangster with that coat and hat on? I think a great piece of art should provoke a fascinated response like mine here.

Shoreditch is a very trendy area and Charlotte street which is the same street as the Kemistry gallery holds a range of shops and design offices. This is the windows front of one of the design centres; different hearts with 'love' written in various languages and fonts within the heart.

This was the range of font used on the front door of another design centre. This area provided a lot of inspiration and is definitely currently a major hub for creativity with street art abundant on most streets. I will definitely be visiting Shoreditch again, potentially for the next exhibition at the Kemistry gallery or even just to explore the surrounding area more. I definitely recommend constant visits to gallery's and places where art is on show even if at first sight it may not seem to impressive simply because you will always learn something or look at a particular technique which you could adapt or use in your own work.

 Images: Authors own of posters in Kemstry gallery (Seymour and Milton Poster Show)
 

CHC