OUGD402 - Studio Brief 1 - Little White Lies Book

https://www.grafik.net/category/objekts-of-desire/cinematic-preachers

After having read some copies of Little White Lies magazine I really want their new book. It is so nicely organised with beautiful illustrated pages. 

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 2 - Website Design

I have always really wanted to have a website to get my work out there for people to look at so I thought that it would be relevant to create one for my self branding. As I don't know how to use Dreamweaver, Wordpress or any HTML yet I thought that I could use one of the online "build your own" sites. I chose the site weebly because it is simply a drag and drop site where you just add elements to set themes.  I chose a very simple but bright colour scheme of the blue to match my logo and to entice people in. I wanted to keep up with the concept of my overall brand which is to be approachable and to look friendly. So I added some informal titles and used informal buttons on the front page to get people to actually go on to look at my work.

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 1 - Visit to Saltaire & David Hockney's Gallery

At the weekend I decided to have a trip to Saltaire as I knew that there was a David Hockney gallery there and I have always been a big fan of his work. The building itself was a vast salt mill, with a seemingly endless facade of windows. In fact most of the town has this beautiful victorian architecture which creates a quaint picturesque village. In fact there was lots of cool shops there selling all sorts of art prints which was really inspiring in itself.

Once in the gallery I was struck by the naive simplicity of some of Hockney's etchings and pen and ink drawings. When I thought of Hockney before visiting the gallery I thought of large vivid paintings so I was surprised to see this kind of work. Looking close at the etchings, he used lots of different techniques of cross hatching, some of them very precise cross hatching that almost looked digitally done.

This was a self portrait that I particularly liked because of the energy of the lines that have been used to shape and shade the face. Also the way that he seems to stare at you with his large dark eyes makes it quite a captivating piece. 

Then he combined these naive styled etchings with pops of bright colour which gives a real contemporary feel. I also quite like the patterns that have been used in the background - the square striped pattern it gives depth to the piece.

I love this combination of type and image, making the type look like it is sat within a room. It is quite interesting as you hardly ever see this subject matter of drawing - a drawing of an exhibition - so it makes me curious to know what the purpose of this illustration. Was it to inform, or maybe it was simply to create an abstract image.

This was definitely my favourite piece in the whole gallery purely because of the textures that he has created within it. The red background is created out of an old street map which creates lots of interesting shapes. Then drawing on top of this adds drama to the piece, especially as all the other elements of the drawing are grey or black.  

OUDG402 - Studio brief 2 - Creative CV

I decided to also do a creative CV as part of my self branding so I could sell myself further. I started with a very simple design, accenting it with my favourite colour of blue. I thought that I could make it more interesting by having my 'Design stats' as progress bars for each of the parts of graphic design that I have done this year. 

I tried adding the yellow in as a frame of sorts to contrast the blue but I feel like this makes it look a bit like a menu. However from a distance it draws you to the piece of paper as you want to read it rather than having a plain white background.

Next I tried a more bold colour choice, having the whole background in yellow and just framing off the title and my logo. I really like the brightness of the background but I fear that it makes the key information harder to read and may give the reader a bit of an eye ache. 

After having a critique with some second years and some of my peers I decided that this format of CV was probably not very interesting and has been done a lot before. I need to make myself unique and stand out so I decided that I should create a CV booklet, which would be a more tactile product. Maybe this will make a more memorable impression too. 

OUDG402 - Studio brief 2 - Final Logo Breakdown

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 2 - Business Card Finals

ILLUSTRATION

DESIGN

Final Print outs

I was pretty happy with the final outcome of the printing, I didn't want to get them printed professionally as I knew that I would most likely change my branding a lot so it would be a waste of money. Instead I used the digital print facility at college and was surprised at the quality that I got. Some of the colours are a bit off but the 400gsm smooth paper makes them feel sturdy. I did encounter problems with aligning the front and backs properly so I do have some cards where the front is not central yet the back is. I took advantage of the photography lighting induction to take some pictures of the final outcomes which I think look quite professional.

OUGD402 - Studio brief 2 - Business cards

I started out designing the back of the business card as I felt this is the most important side, the other side will just be for show. I kept to the theme of my logo, using the same font and also displaying it on the back. I put all my relevant information in, but I tried to put it in a really informal, chatty tone based on my concept of welcomeness. So I introduced myself and used "call me" etc instead of the usual telephone, email, website that is usually used. I thought that this might make me stand out from the crowd a bit and make me seem like a more approachable person.

I played around with adding a block of colour but I'm not sure whether it works that well. It does add a pop to it but your eye is drawn to the colour rather than to the information, which I want to be read. 

I briefly worked on the front of the card, contrasting my logo in yellow on black. I think the black background is much too harsh for my design and it doesn't look that welcoming at all. I think it would look better the other way around - black on yellow but I am going to sort out the back of the business card first.

Then I created a pattern using the negative space of my logo which looks a bit like a medal or a ribbon and overlaid this on the back of the card. I think this once again takes away from the readability of the key information. Although I do really like this pattern, it can be viewed in two ways - with the yellow ribbons or with the white space creating what looks like pencils or arrows. 

In the end I reverted back to my initial design but removing the dotted border to give the text more room to breath. I also added my illustration of myself onto the card to add character and my personality to it. I tried using the pattern as the front cover and I really like it like this but I feel like overall the business card doesn't show what I do as I have just used the logo icon.

So I added the full logo into the design and framed it like in Marta Llop's design. I really like the contrast of the bold black lines against the bright yellow as it really pops out at you. I can imagine when printed this yellow will look great and make you want to pick up the business card.

I tried once again adding some pattern to the cover but I really think that this takes away from the clean lines and simplicity of my design. I feel like with the block yellow background it looks like a picture framed on the wall so all your attention is drawn to the logo and no where else.

I added in the contrasting blue design and I think that it really makes the design pop. It is just what the card needed to stand out. I then had a critique with the second years and they said that the front of the business card was perfect, but the back was a bit confused. They said I should separate the illustration and the logo and maybe instead have 2 different cards, one with just my illustration and the other with just the logo on the back. I agreed with this and thought that I could also alternate the colours I have used to further differentiate the 2 and make the cards like collectables so that people would want both cards. Also they said because I have my logo on the back, it isn't needed on the front so I could remove it and make my name bigger.

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 2 - Self Identity Collateral Research

I started looking into applying my logo into some printed materials like business cards and maybe even a creative CV. 

I really like the back layout of this design, it's simple yet effective as it creates lots of empty space to frame the information. I also like how the information given is very simple - there is only 2 contact details supplied, which are probably the ones that people would want the most on a business card. People only really give out phone numbers now if you know them well rather than you have just met. Also the bright shite stock is really effective in portraying a clean look, I can imagine it would be even more effective contrasted against a bright front.

I simply love the use of bold colours and lines within this design. It makes the business cards look almost like part of a cartoon that has been outlined in black. I definitely will try and add a pop of colour in my own designs as I simply can't take my eyes off this design. 

Once again in this design a frame has been used around the logo to emphasise the design and draw your eye to it. Also the colour scheme is simple, kept to two colours which makes all of the designs for each element of his brand tie together really neatly and become cohesive. 

I really love this idea of having a compact, designed CV of sorts. It means that you could carry them around and maybe even hand them out with your business card. The use of colours and patterns here works well as it creates different textures and makes you want to peak inside. I think that for my practice I will create something similar to this to sell myself further though maybe in a different format such as a small book. 

OUGD402 - Studio brief 2 - Pixel mini me

I am very much inspired by the TV show Adventure Time for a lot of my illustrations as I love how simple yet effective the styling is. The characters lack a lot of detail yet they still have quirks and personalities. So I thought for part of my self branding I could do a mini-me for use on my website or in some of my stationary. At first I drew over the thumbnails that I had drawn within my sketchbook.

I tried to add some details to the design by using textures to make my jumper and jeans look like fabric. I really like this style as I think it is very friendly and playful compared to a photograph. I think I may use this vector image or at least part of it within some of my branding. 

But I wanted to simplify this further and combine it with another one of my loves since childhood; video games. So I looked up some tutorials on how to create pixel artworks and created a mini me using the pencil tool in photoshop and a pixel base that I found (here).

The result is a lot more kitsch than the first one but I feel it represents me more (and I look quite adorable!). I wanted to add more on the basis of video games so I decided to create some "stats" as if I was a playable character. 

The overall effect is charming and shows two of my favourite things in the world (adventure time and video games). I don't know whether this is the correct tone of voice for self promotion however. Perhaps it is a little too playful. I much prefer this to my original vector designs, she feels more alive and less stick-like.

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 2 - Final Logo Development

I chose this as my final logo design as I feel it is the most succinct design - it combines my initials in a playful and not too serious way, adding a curved edged line rather than a straight one has really helped with softening the tone of voice to a more friendly one. I also found a new font to use instead of Futura, it is called Quicksand and I particularly like it because of the beautiful ampersand and the curved edges again which makes it look welcoming. 

I also added colour to my designs. I decided that the whole concept of my brand should be friendly and welcoming and yellow connotes this. It's bright and pleasing to the eye.

 

Alternatively I also have used a sky blue as this is my favourite colour. I found that the two colours work well together and slightly contrast each other for a pleasing effect. I thought that maybe I could alternate the colours depending on if my work was illustration based or design based. Even on the business cards I could have two versions - one for design and one for illustration as I feel like I am equally strong in both areas.

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 1 - Ged Palmer - Lettering Artist

http://www.gedpalmer.com/

GED PALMER IS A LETTERING ARTIST & SIGN PAINTER BASED IN LONDON.

With over twelve years experience of working with letterforms Ged offers typography, calligraphy, lettering & sign painting to discerning clients in the UK and abroad. His work has been recognised by the International Society of Typographic Designers, the Type Directors Club and various publications worldwide.
I found Ged Palmer while scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration. He specialises in hand drawn typography and sign writing, which some might say is a dying art. He posts lots of videos of his process so it is very inspiring to watch. I love the flourishes that he uses within his sign painting on shop windows. 

Like here in a tattoo shop he has used a traditional tattoo found which combines ornamentation with a serif font. The ornamentation reminds me of victorian plaster decoration. 

Custom Logotypes. 

Palmer also specialises in creating unique logotypes for companies and custom fonts. Here is a selection of some of my favourites. 

I love the decorative serif used as a dramatic logo. The boldness of the letterform draws you straight in while the subtleties of the detail in the design keep your eyes lingering there.

He also shows that you can still do modern looking hand lettering as most people associate hand lettering with calligraphy. But the geometric shapes in this clean font is very effective. I love the clever use of the shadow to create the P.

These two logos use very clever but subtle use of shapes to describe the name in the imagery. The tusk logo's k's tail flicks out to look like an elephants tusk. The weight of the font used also represents the hugeness of the animals that have tusks. For the Shepherds logo he has used the shepherd's crook within the S of the logo. I really like how these elements are minimal and subtle so it makes it look sophisticated and not over the top.