Responsive / Evaluative writing

FEATHR

I was happy with my final outcome although I do believe I could have been more creative, this may have resulted in my design being selected. The distortion of the grid wasn’t aesthetically based which I am happy about however I am aware that similar aesthetics are popular within contemporary graphic design; a similar design was placed in the window of Urban Outfitters a week after my submission.

If I were to re-attempt the brief I would enjoy experimenting more and avoiding this unintentional contemporary G.D aesthetic. Applying the design to soft furnishings and imagining the design as part of a brand aesthetic worked better than it did as wallpaper, I was happy to imagine collaboration within the fashion industry. I would have liked to print the design as wallpaper and decorate a wall with the design however my poor planning in relation to printing decided against this ambition.

The brief did give me my first opportunity to work with tiling and printed textiles which I enjoyed and do expect to work within again. It was never my aspiration to win the competition, as I would have been more creative in my response, it was my aspiration to work with one of my ‘to-do’ ideas I keep a list of to work with in the future.

NYC

Need Money For NYC let me explore the problems of working without a budget,

re-appropriation and collaboration. This was the first time I had worked with the photographer, Jamie Carmichael. He originally gave me a mock up of the zine, it was a poor in relation to design however he had insisted that he was to keep the content pages he had printed and we were to only create a front and back cover. I didn’t agree with this compromise and insisted the whole publication was to be redesigned. This was a problem and in evaluation, I should have realized my own and Jamie’s creative partnership was not to end well.

Redesigning the zine to a concept as well as creating the artwork strengthened the publication. We did manage the £0 budget we intended and the concept of re-appropriating materials out of necessity was achieved. If I were to start the project again, I would have attempted to apply this idea more thoroughly throughout the publication, perhaps using found paper and staples; however this is an idea I can use again in a future project.

CHANEL

One of my most enjoyable briefs, I set the Pushkin Press competition to be a one day brief; purely to see if it was achievable. The research for the project was considerably easy to source, the CHANEL website was incredibly informative as well as the great amount of publications in the library. This crash course into the history of the brand helped me develop several concepts I could work with and develop. I was happy with the concepts I basically communicated at the critique stage. It was this critique of ideas that helped me define a path. I believe working with the abstract link I created helped create a sense of questioning to the average reader, however ‘Qui qu’a vu Coco’ would be recognizable to any respectable fan of CHANEL, which I assumed to be the target market.

The production of the typography was a technique I haven’t used for 2 years, hand rendered type, scanned and then edited. I was happy with the final response although my expectations to win are low as I can imagine the winning illustrated minimal representation of Gabrielle Chanel’s face as I write.

I intended the design to be spot varnished as to not detract from the books’ cover however, yet again due to my poor planning in relation to print and the constrictions of a day brief, I was left without a printed response. It’s unfortunate, as the production of the design would have definitely exaggerated its strength.

PENGUIN

Another day brief, the Penguin Design Awards was a brief I was not expecting to enjoy, I initially planned to complete the brief as a challenge; book cover was a field of design I had never contemplated. Surprisingly I thoroughly enjoyed its completion although I don’t believe my future lies within the field. As it was a day brief, I did not have the time to read the book even though my regular working day consists of 9.30am to 8.30pm. This time limit made me source efficiently without the ability to tangent, a good skill I am to repeat in the future.

My response was somewhat mature in its aesthetic, I didn’t intend to shock or use such imagery for attention, I simply believe the imagery relates well to the narrative of the book. In this decision to not be censored by social constraints I believe I have found a sense of rejection towards the idea of work that is not fit for public consumption.  This approach is apparent in my secret7 submission.

I am pleased with the response but never satisfied, there are several minute details, which I was unsure about, as the field of book design is new to me. If the design does get shortlisted, Penguin’s art director is said to direct any changes.

ID Magazine for D&AD

This was the largest and most time consuming brief I intended to complete, I had great hopes for the brief as ID Magazine and other fashion related editorials are where I intend to work in the future.

I chose to use this brief as the collaborative studio brief 2 as my photography skills are not so strong and are currently in development. I worked with Jamie Carmichael on the NYC zine simultaneously alongside this brief.

I believed the proposed concept of the shoot to be well considered, the interpretation of this concept into photographs I was not as sure about as my experience in this field is one that I aspire to develop considerably.

My working agreement with Jamie was certain, we both agreed on a deadline and we had discussed the proposed shots with acceptance from both parties. We had been in communication daily and I was under the presumption the proposed shots had been taken, this was wrong of my to presume and when we met on the Tuesday the 24^th (Day after deadline) it became apparent no photographs had been taken. We attempted to re-appropriate from Jamie’s existing library however, as seen on my blog, no 3 images were appropriate.

With the missing of submission for the module deadline, it was apparent we would not complete the brief. I was severely disappointed, especially as I considered this to be the most exciting brief to complete. Although I did not complete the brief I have learnt to choose creative partners a lot more carefully and not simply because they are friends. I am to develop my photography skills noticeably so that I am not to rely on a photographer in the future.

Laynes Espresso

First of two submissions for NEST magazine. This brief gave me a lot of room to explore my ideas without the restriction of being heavily critiqued or having to be conceptually heavy, allowing creativity to lead.

As a fan if the caffeinated beverage myself, I enjoyed the idea of relating my interest to graphic design. I have always seen the relationship between working and coffee as an example of two parallels; it was this idea I explored in the response. Creating a simple design to frame an ‘accidental’ spillage of coffee exaggerated this relation.

Although this vision would be logistically and time consuming, it is something that could work well on a smaller scale, perhaps on the business cards of a merchant.

I do think my response was stronger than the chosen advertisement in the magazine but may be due to my bias subjective opinion.

Module Evaluation

I do think the independence and the open nature of the module was a pleasure, it gave me my first insight into the industry as well as beginning to define the type of creative that I am.

My hope to become an art director became apparent over the module, as I began to move away for the idea of designing logos and business cards for a living; I became critical of the graphic designer. The limitations facing a graphic designer bore me; I understand the definition of a graphic designer is just that but my interest in creativity surpasses graphic design.

As of yet, my responses from the competitions I have entered have been unsuccessful, this doesn’t bother me in any sense and I shouldn’t take this as a reflection of my work.

My planning of time is an area I need to seriously develop, it was because of this I was unable to submit physical copies of my work. My motivation and work ethic has been the greatest it has ever been and I am happy with the level of commitment I am giving to the course. I need to develop to production values and presentation, focusing on photo-shoots of work and crating an online presence of these.

I don’t believe I am completing work near my full potential at this point, I believe my ethic and motivation are there, it is experimentation and development I need to focus on to do better. I plan on doing so by allowing myself more time in briefs for such activities, as well as allowing more self less free time and more time working enjoyable which is a happy compromise.