Grenades for your xmas tree... x6

I just came across these little 'Christmas Declarations' by Manchester based design firm Dorothy.  The thought provoking ornaments have been designed for  Ctrl.Alt.Shift and sold to promote awareness and raise some moneys for the cause.  I think Christmas is one of those tricky subjects, like I've found with my latest brief, Ted Baker (A/W collection) - it can be quite hard to avoid cliche or be clever.  And this is clever!  My own practice is still yet to achieve something that is so simple and spot on.  One can only strive to be this effective.  

Another foolproof pitch required:

Ian Anderson returns once again...

Slightly reminiscent of the 'Pointless' task, I felt better prepared to tackle the latest brief.

As always:

"It's about design thinking with a little bit of real life thrown in"

So... the brief:

The world is run by a single corporation.  Situation and circumstance has led to everything being colour coded, a solution to breakdown the barriers of language and culture.  The corporation wants to pick a single colour for its rebranding.  Each group is a different colour.  With the biggest gig of your career, how do you convince them to pick you!?

• Think lateral
• Creative presenting - must entertain!
• Teamwork

TEAM: GREEN

In alphabetical order:

Jemma (WITH A J - OKAY?)

Jenny

Jon

Kathryn

We spent all of thursday generating our idea, and this morning producing a stop frame animation.  Unfortunately I had to leave the workshop - I've felt so poorly this week, I was disappointed and didn't want to let the group down... but hopefully they will forgive me and share some shots of our work for this old blog!

Helen Murgatroyd

Another guest lecture from a previous student, always encouraging!! I find Helen's work really interesting.  I recognised the name and the work from Sue's previous lectures.  It was great to finally put a face to these, and me and Hannah had a quick chat after the lecture about dissertations and the self direction aspect of the course.

Since graduating from D&AD in 2007, Helen has taken a year out, which at this moment in time is what my dreams are made of.  Helen is currently an MA Student in London, studying Drawing and Printmaking.  Just goes to show you how our course covers such a large area of art and design, setting you up for any aspect.  Sue introduced Helen by explaining how she used third year to find who she was as a practitioner ; through developing her interests and ideas.  Of significant relevance at this moment in time, she also explained about how her dissertation tied in with her practice, writing about the pencil as a tool and how it allows direct contact.  This shone through in Helen's methods and her interest in mapping, which presented what I interpreted to be a very fresh outlook on information graphics.

Animation and French-stitched book.

Mapping:

Helen's handmade powerpoint presentation!!

What a lovely idea!!

I remember this when I was a fresh faced college student on the MMU openday!

I love handmade stuff, I wish I had a talent for it.  I loved her Sol Lewitt quote, that the sketchbook is very much part of the final piece, I find these things the most intriguing to look at.  Evident from her sketches and online folio, Helen has explored and developed a visual language, explaining that a voice will come with time.  This was a really inspiring talk, naturally presented.

Hamish Muir

Wow, if I thought design could be time consuming, this lecture made me think twice.  Hamish has been a designer for thirty years and prior to technology as I know it followed painstaking processes with paint and a photocopier just to produce a simple poster.  I suppose this is what it should all be about though.  A more skilled and perhaps handcrafted way of working.  Though digital art is still a craft in its own right, I think it's too easily taken for granted nowadays.  I appreciate all different types of art/design and aesthetics, but it was his earlier and more crafted pieces that I found most interesting... even Hamish himself admitted he didn't like some of the pieces.

His love for making and designing came from his self declared "early onset OCD" - that carefully crafted model airplanes.  Muir described OCD as something that most designers succumb to.  We want everything to look neat and in place.  I definitely suffer from this!!

In 1985 Hamish joined forces with Mark Holt and Simon Johnston and together founded 8Vo.  The collective opted for an anonymous name as it was about their work together and not about the individuals.  They produced a lot of work for The Hacienda and Factory Records due to their friendship with Tony Wilson.  Their ideas came out of working together, they show an energy and this is described by Muir as coming from 'dialogue, debate and sometimes conflict.'

The integration of type and image is interesting with a lot of visual impact.  Hamish mentioned the words 'robust' and 'crash.'  Not really a fan of the aesthetic or colour schemes.

Two examples of 8Vo's layout experiments for The Hacienda.  Working at real size, then photographed.  I find this way of working really intriguing:

Another example, which I really liked the aesthetic of was an album cover, produced and photographed in the same way.  It was really interesting to see the documentation of the process visually.  Davies and I discussed feeding this practice into our Ted Baker experiments:

"The computer screen tells lies"

A great piece of advice.  Don't trust what you see on screen, constantly print off and make physical mock-ups to help realise and make decisions.  Last night I printed off an image for 'Silence' that I had labelled as an experiment.  But once I printed it off, I was surprised to find it was much nicer than any of my other images.  If I had printed this off weeks ago, I might have saved myself some time.  And stress.

My favourite pieces were his layouts for 8Vo's editorial project Octavo, an international journal of typography.  They had planned to produce 8 issues, 1 every 6 months for 4 years.  Produced before I was born and yet the grids are timeless.  They remind me of something else Hamish said, about designing a system that you can pour your design into at the last minute when a client asks for a quick turn around!  A good trick to have up your sleeve I'm sure!!  

Things that hit the nail on the head:

• Always seek your poster in the wild.
  
• Control the PC, don't let it control you.
• It is 'un-lazy' to work in a pair.
• Don't be overwhelmed by what you learn or be afraid of being a graphic designer.  Hamish wasn't ready when he graduated.  I appreciate this, I have been dwelling on it for the last few weeks religiously.

(Tues.dec 1st)

School of Saatchi:

What is modern art?

Does the public like or dislike it?

Episode 2

The Body Shop:

A live creative brief by D&AD that I have chosen to tackle for my personal project.  The subject of this brief, being ethical beauty promotion, links to my dissertation on "Mediated Ideals (A study of the relationship between fashion and beauty consumption and self esteem)."  I think it will be perfect for tying my written work and my studio practice together.  In my last feedback session Clinton suggested I looked into more social and political campaigns with a view to future practice.

The brief:

"Create an unconventional brand campaign for

The Body Shop to reinstate its position as the original pioneer of ethical beauty."

• Tone: Opinionated, maverick, honest, cheeky, challenging and unique - not safe and inclusive.
  
• Target: Men and women of all ages, who purchase cheap products or products that have not been ethically sourced.
  
• Considerations:

1. The Body Shop is non-conformist, a pioneer for ethical beauty and justice around the world.
   
2. Medium and concept should be outside the conventional approach of other campaigns.
   
3. Does it stand out from competition?  Could it be confused with any other brand?
   
4. Is it impactful?  
   

Below, are three sourced examples of what I think the brief are looking for in terms of a voice with an opinion, though they could exude a bit more vibrancy.  The last one I think is cleverer because it is less expected and is something that most women will relate to something they have said and thought about it in the past.  The Body Shop use colour in a very simple way, often only one at a time.

I can tell that The Body Shop obviously attempt Art Direction with seriousness but they could be better executed and more aesthetically pleasing.  The ideas/tags/images run along the correct lines but they just seem a little put together and could be slicker.

Break The Silence on Domestic Violence - I think this is a poor effort.  It is safe, could easily belong to any high street brand and is rather uninspiring.  It's dull and the image is confusing... should they look like they are talking between friends?  One looks a bit intimidated and one looks dominating.  Don't get me started on the typography.

And last but not least, an interactive example.  The Body Shop have been known for using delivery lorries to ensure that their message becomes socially present, as well as a life size doll to confront beauty stereotypes.  Here we have a stand encouraging passers by to take part in the campaign.  This is fun and would target people that would perhaps normally pass by the store unaware of what it has to offer.  It brings the brand to the forefront of their mind and may even entice them into purchase.

Fitter, Happier, More Productive.

I feel like me and Davies have had a successful and productive day.

Loving the Ted Baker brief. 

♥

School of Saatchi:

Bizarre. 

Episode 1

Dead Man (1995)

As a Western, I have to confess to wrongly being quite hostile about this film before it had even begun.  Open minded, I gave it a chance but I believe you know within the first five minutes of a film, whether you have been transported and captured by a story and this was one that failed to reel me in.  I felt it began quite slow, though there were some beautiful shots through the carriage windows and the black and white was a refreshing change.  I thought there was much to be analysed and read in to, to the point where if you didn't it was beyond comprehension.  I am quite analytical but I didn't enjoy responding to this.  I'd be interested to hear feedback on this film, other peoples thoughts and feelings.  Perhaps I missed something?

To be read in a Yorkshire accent:

Craig Oldham came in to do a lecture for us on tuesday (24th). More entertaining than Emmerdale (which he alluded to) and YCN (sorry!) this was engaging from start to finish, and not only that but I think that I, and everyone else took a lot away from this. And I don't just mean the 12 in 12 handouts he gave us - which are ab fab!!

So, briefly, as he is "not one to blow his own trumpet" he has worked for The Chase and is currently at Music. This wasn't really a show and tell but of his few examples I loved this piece for the The MEN...

A paperfold that informs the Manchester Evening News are moving to a new building. It's simple, great, and the fact that this was done from start to finish in about an hour kills me! My practice needs to pick up some pace!!

And the 12 in 12:

Craig presented this to us, sharing 12 things we may/should learn in our first year in industry. Knowing what to expect and how to achieve it really helped me to understand what I should be doing and I realised I need to start thinking of where I want to potentially end up and to act upon it asap. I loved that this was presented to us in a really positive (and verbally colourful) way! Craig was really informative and this and Graham's lecture on self promotion have been the best of the year so far! Guest lectures are always good... so can we have some more, please and thank you! :)

So the rundown of the 12 points:

1. Understand what Graphic Design means to you.
2. Be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses.
3. A portfolio is for life, not just for an interview.
4. Placements matter. Do them.
5. The Design industry is small, everyone knows everybugger else.
6. Participate with other people and share your ideas.
7. Graphic Design is just a job, being a designer is different.
8. Fall off your bike. If you don't fail then you are not trying.
9. Life and work exist outside of London.
10. Designing is only , about, 20% of your job.
11. Have a life outside of Design.
12. Work hard and be nice to people.

Primary Research

I've been corresponding with MP Jo Swinson for my dissertation.  I previously blogged about her public comments concerning the Alas and Piggott's Emporio Armani Advertisements featuring the Beckhams.  It has been great to hear her views on other issues, such as the Dove Real Beauty campaign (Rankin's work again♥), fashion magazines, the portrayal of women and how not just women but men are responding to her women's policy.  I think it has been really interesting to hear how advertisements are received politically and socially and has definitely given me a better understanding of the media culture.  Perhaps these sort of issues and campaigns is where I see myself working.  This is only the start of my primary research and I think I should pursue contacting someone who is behind the media as well as 'real' women.

Lucy May Schofield:

On friday I had the pleasure of meeting Lucy.  Ahead of the workshop I had a sneaky peak at her website, and her work is simply gorgeous.  I really enjoyed exploring the website itself, I love the aesthetic and it feels very natural and personal.  The writing is beautiful too.  I recognised 'Roadkill' as one of the pieces of inspiration Hilary had shown me in the bookbinding workshop last year.  I love it when the book becomes its own object and not just a documentation.  It is a great way of marrying concept and format.

This was something that Lucy made us think about in the workshop as well as the way in which we have the ability to control the reader, to make them linger.  It is about the ability to dictate and pace (which comes from much editing and trial and error) and is also about creating the correct rhythm for the reader.  They need breathing space to take in and be impacted by the narrative, and you don't want to create a format which is repetitive and makes them lazy.  

The group shared our 'Silence' interpretations with each other, it was great for everyone to receive some excitement about their work and to start thinking freshly about the project.  My own discussion with Lucy has made me want to confront the experimental side of the brief.  My strengths probably lie in conformed issue/social briefs but I want some variety in my portfolio and something that proves I can push out of my comfort zone.  So I'm going to eliminate all panic (easier said than done) and face the brief (also easier said than done).  Hopefully for our meeting next friday I can have some visuals to share and gain feedback from.  I've already started to mock up formats that I feel might portray a silence to the reader, whilst also emphasising my concept.  This workshop was a turning point and I left thinking about my future practice.

I also want to share some findings from the day.  Lucy took us over to the Special Collections where we spent an hour or so absorbed in the Artist Books.  Here are two that I was intrigued by...

'Imprint'

I loved how it constructed a narrative and made me think about the silent projection of thoughts and sentiment attatched to possessions.  This is similar to my personal interpretation of the brief and has inspired me to think about the simplicity of presenting my objects.

Read (in past tense)

 A great use of resources!  A book on blushing produced on heat sensitive paper!! This speaks for itself, it's a great idea!  In future I will definitely be thinking about how material is also sensitive to concept.

I am looking forward to next friday!

The Live Project:

I would like to say one brief down, and just two to go before Christmas... however Silence is still proving to be an ongoing battle, and I'm not the one winning.  It seems to have gotten the better of me and the worry of not doing anything good has led me to do not much at all.

The second project of third year has begun, and we had a number of briefs with great potential to pick from.  I have selected TED BAKER.

The brief is asking for an autumn window display that captures the irreverence of Ted Baker, with a fun and British humour.

I'm so excited about this project.  It combines two of my favourite things... window displays, and the delightful Miss Davies who is my collaborative partner and creative soul mate for the next three weeks.

I wrapped up second year by doing my presentation on window displays.  I love visual merchandising and felt that I had some background knowledge of what is successful and what isn't.  It is also an excuse to delve into my archive of windows I've snapped in the past and put them to some use!

This week Hannah and I ventured into town together and took some photographs of existing displays (on my dodgy old camera):

Selfridges

Always a favourite of mine.

A great concept, engaging, eye catching, fun, colourful, slogans... representing a very British Christmas with a playful panto theme.  This is the kind of concept I imagine to suit the Ted Baker brief, irreverent and British!

Ted Baker

I love this!  It definitely helped me to understand Ted Baker and what the brief is about.  It was a teeny tiny window so I also understand how scaleable the windows must be.

"Elf & Fitness - Be a lean mean present giving machine".

I think it's a brilliant tagline.  It is persuasive, It captures the essence of the brands fun, it is engaging and directs a theme that will entertain and be easily received.  It is also seasonal without being cliche, something I think must be quite hard to produce.

Harvey Nichols

Another store well known for their window displays... but I have to say, I'm not a fan!  They always seem to be a prime example of 'great visual, poor concept.'  I never seem to understand what is going on and the amount to take in is just overwhelming.  The eye naturally centres on the focal point and centre feature, however there is so much dancing around it that it can't be taken in.  Window's need you to understand them in the split second before you have passed them by.  The themes never seem to engage me, I don't see the point in making something pretty if it doesn't communicate and fulfill its objective.  I also feel like Selfridges and Ted Baker have created a brand identity from their windows... not too sure what Harvey Nic's wants to say to me...

Time to get into action, so here's to hitting the ground running!

YCN

On tuesday (17th November) - Alex came from YCN to familiarise us with the program.  Having challenged past competition briefs in year one and two of D&AD I already recognised a lot of the lectures content.  I love that YCN have encouraged companies to write creative briefs for a multitude of design outputs and it was interesting to see how how the agency has evolved over past years and also what goes on aside from the competitions.  Past examples were key to getting us on the right conceptual and visual path.  The winner of the Arsenal competition brief was a great example.  I was surprised it was chosen on concept and then refined at a later date, and how fab that he got work from entering this.  Alex reiterated that it can move you on leaps and bounds and open many doors.  I think I need to stop worrying about making something good (this often leads to producing nothing at all) and to just get on with my conceptual skills as these are probably my strengths.  I'm excited that we have been given the briefs with enough time to hopefully enter this year, but all I want is to produce something that I am finally happy with.  That would be ace!

Did I mention I love Rankin?

I just came across these images and more when researching for my dissertation.  Wow!!  Make-up artist Alex Box and Rankin have collaborated to create a stunning body of work.  The images blur the boundaries between make-up and art, and deconstruct the conventions of beauty in fashion - one of Rankin's recgognisable themes.  Alex has opened the human form up in such an expressive way that both intrigues and unsettles.  It captures Rankin's instinctive style and I just adore how whimsical and fantastical the outcomes are.