joshuajms

[joshuajms]

Christmas has come early...

So now I have invested my future in the advertising industry, in London especially, the festive period is a series of big budget advertising blockbusters. 

The one we’ve all been waiting for is what Adam&Eve/DDB and John Lewis have produced. This year with the feature being #MozTheMonster, For me the Beatles song, covered by Elbow is the only highlight. It feels like a poor attempt at repeating Monty the Penguin and the soft penguin’s triumph at Christmas back in 2014. 

John Lewis was cheekily pipped at the post as first big release by Grey’s M&S Paddington Bear ad. An overall film I think slightly better achieved than Moz and the gang at Adam&Eve. A classic Father Christmas tale with a twist as Santa is played by a thief. Little be known to naive Paddington who only knows well of people. All in all a personally more heart warming piece with additions to the campaign placing Paddington bear in the shop windows of your Marks & Spencer stores.

A close second in my eyes is a series for Vodafone, that could probably have been cut down an episode, starring Martin Freeman as a nervous pick up artist on a bench waiting for a train. The continued story of Vodafone’s discount telephone services in a playful and sometimes bizarre scenarios rounds it up nicely for Christmas with a love story from Ogilvy & Mather. 

(Below is Part 1 of 5).

My 2017 winner of Christmas ad from a London agency comes from J Walter Thompson and Debenhams, titled “You shall find your fairytale Christmas”. I am a sucker for a love story and this is your classic boy meets girl. Based on Cinderella, with a contemporary twist, Ewan McGregor narrates and ends this lovely 60 spot. One of the things I respect the most about this ad is the fact they've clearly shelled out for McGregor but haven't ‘whored him out’ )excuse my colloquialism) at all. He is the fairy godmother or angel figure, fixing the Christmas street lights and ‘guiding’ the couple to finally meet again. An all round loving Christmas tale.

[joshuajms]

Back with a Vengeance

After much deliberation and time off getting my life on track I have decided I am going to start writing indefinitely. The reasoning behind this decision is if I want to be a copywriter I am going to have to start writing some copy, regularly. I am now a Junior Graphic Designer at the advertising agency, Doner London with the aim to build myself up as a creative specialising in copy.

I have no personal aim for this blog, I see it as a personal commentary and archive of my life and work. This first post is just going to discuss my recently read books and the opinion I have made on them.

First is a book I read a couple of months ago by Dale Carnegie, (recommended by a good friend of mine and future business/creative partner, Stefan Griesche), called ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People’. 

An insightful guide on how to manipulate people and get them to like you. Quite a backwards prospect but a read worth revisiting in my opinion. The biggest lesson for life in this book: let people talk about themselves because that’s all they primitively care about.

The second is a book I once rented from a library and just had to buy a copy for myself. I even ended up buying it twice after I gave one on to a friend. A lesson in getting straight to the point by none other than cultural provocateur, George Lois.

A graphic communicator and art director known for his loud and downright memorable advertising. A man that once described his own profession as... “Advertising is poison gas. It should bring tears to your eyes, unhinge your senses, and knock you out.” Lessons learnt from this book: have balls and make work that’s fun. 

The third book is one I bought at the same time as Damn Good Advice, from the Design Museum in Kensington, and also another recommendation from Stefan Griesche. Paul Arden’s “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be.”

It seems I am seeking out self-help books but my vision is to be a better version of myself and authors of books like these gives me extra motivation and validate the thoughts that I have. I am normally a big fan of Penguin Classics but the last couple of Phaidon books I’ve read have been brilliant.

Paul Arden writes pure poetry in this how-to guide to success. One DPS that really resonates with me goes as follows... 

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The final send off

The past 3 years have been an absolute pleasure. I've met a fantastic group of people that I am sure will be great contacts for the future. I’m sure this isn’t as professional as it should be but it is the final post after all. 

This last project for me has been ridiculous. Never at the start of first year did I imagine we would all be able to produce this level of work. In concept, in finish and in such a wide range of mediums. 

For me personally, I have learnt how to create a solid campaign with purpose (Something Kieron specifically told me to look for). I am confident that when I get thrown into my first client pitch I will take the skills I’ve learnt, in conversation and communication, to blow the socks off of the unexpectant  marketing manager or whatever title they will have then.

This has been a project of discovery, attempting to reborn the Swiss pharmaceutical aesthetic with gritty photography that I hope will end up in Pimlico tube; a project of design, creating a logo mark with integrity that works alongside both bold and calm packaging; and, a project of copywriting, a new found love of mine and an area I wish to one day walk the path of.

In regards to writing, I feel even just from doing the dissertation I have become more confident and more learned. I have a passion for Japanese culture, design and the Zen and I feel my design aesthetic has become cleaner. From understanding how the Japanese live on smaller means and live simpler lives I have learnt to reduce my work down to it’s purest form. From concept to end product I believe this year I have been all about cutting and chopping it down to it’s barest form. That is something I am very glad of. The dissertation actually helped me! Genius.  

This is a thank you to everyone that has affected me, friend or foe. And especially for the support from start to finish from the GDC team. 

Best, 

The better third of j’trois

[joshuajms]

FMP Final Shots

When backlit I am very happy with the posters. They do need some work for the final show though. I have a few processes I am considering. They definitely need to be bigger and brighter because I want people to remember that Spit Saves Lives. 

The three options I will be looking into are:

Printing spot fluoro for the Spit Saves Lives type.

Screen printing the orange Spit Saves Lives.

Buying a backlit frame.

On the one side though, in situ these posters as 6 sheet billboards would never be a flat CMYK print, they will always either be backlit with tube lighting or digital. In both of these outcomes I do think the poster is strong enough. I am extremely happy with the campaign I just feel let down by my lack of knowledge on the printing process.

The pack I am very happy with. I would like them to be professionally folded though as my handy work is just not up to scratch! Overall I am happy with the final outcomes but they need finessing for the final show.

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The prints are back!

So today I picked up all of the finished prints from Shades of Colour, extremely generous with runs of print again as with the show invites. Really happy with the final finish on the packaging, the posters on the other hand I’m not the happiest about. I will get back to that though.

So Will at Shades of Colour introduced me to the scoring guillotine. I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of it and for this project especially due to the intricacy the back of a scalpel works well and accurately.

It was lucky they were overprinted due to the first couple that ran through the scorer did cut through. On 300gsm G.F Smith Mandarin paper it was exactly what I had asked for. The separate pieces came out perfectly even though I had to go back because there was one item missed.

It took me 4 attempts to perfect the inner box due to design side problems. Before I sent them to print I adjusted the size (smaller) of everything apart from the net. So I regretfully had to downsize the entire net with travail!

The posters on the other hand did come out as flat as David had suggested. Due to the multiplied text the printer didn't really know what it was processing. I sadly didn't get a picture of them fresh out of printer probably due to my upset at the finish.

In general though a really good job and a printer I will definitely recommend.

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FMP To Print

I am using the printers Shades of Colour for the final outcome. I have decided to use the poster diptych of Hide for hand in. I have retouched the face a lot more than originally, removing some spit left in his beard. I played around with the light to try and flatten off the light on the face like with the right hand image but in the end I preferred just the image as it was. I like how next to each other the images have different textures in face and beard.

Due to the black beard I think the text works better and becomes more interesting. With the shaved or slightly stubbled white faces the text becomes too overbearing and doesn’t really play with the layers of the face whereas with the black beard the type has more integration with the image.

Since the initial chat with St. Luke’s about the density of text on the informational insert I have cut down the five points and the query question to it’s bare essentials. Ray suggested I place a logo on the front of the slip box with the orange illustration but I feel because there is already a logo on the right hand side I don’t want to overkill it with branding. I think the illustration on it’s own is more aesthetically pleasing as well especially in reference to the work of Roland Aeschlimann for Geigy.

I have rounded off the stickers for the top of the box that I will apply with sticky back plastic onto the actual receptacle container. After speaking to the printer instead of die cutting I will be hand cutting the boxes out with a scalpel. They have also let me use the hand creasing machine to help with the smooth edges. For the box net this will be printed onto an orange card. As the printer only has thin sheets they have agreed to duplex the stock. I find this the most effective box net as it doesn’t require too much glueing because the sides slot into the bottom of the box. It leaves a cleaner finish and reduces the risk of ruining the box with glue stains.

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FMP Final Posters

So here are the edited shots as posters. I like how the template allows for the different character of the images to shine through still allowing the type clear breathing space. I really like how the only colour is the message. I would have preferred to get a wider range of racial backgrounds but that would only have been possible with greater time in the pre production of this shoot. As it was a one day idea to execution turn over and the budget was nothing it wasn’t possible to bring in models of various appearance.

I am really happy at the power of these images. I like how there is nothing like this in the charity sector currently. It is brave and it’s the step out of safety that was asked of me before FMP. I think it is effective how the spit is out of focus because it removes the disgusting image of spit but it’s still understandable.

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FMP Photoshoot

For this photoshoot I brought in a good friend of mine Stefan Griesche who studies advertising at LCC but has a passion for photography. He has the kit and the expertise to shoot for me so I thought it would only make sense. I really enjoyed directing on the shoot, making sure that both the model and the photographer were happy and working in the same vein that I had, sharing the same concept. 

I had the guys spit in a bin with the camera angle underneath them to try and capture a similar composition as the straight one. I brought that over to lightroom and played around with it in black and white. I wanted a high contrast, high clarity black and white portrait, the sort of stuff that amazed me when I was younger. Really high texture gritty images. I particularly like the detailing on the face on the second model in the black and white spitting image.

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FMP Photographic Concept

So with the finessed logo mark I am going with the third one down in the first image. I hand drew the circles representing the microscopic image of a stem cell, still connecting the 2 Os as they are the only difference within the word. It is a subtle outcome but one that find very pleasing.

Photo Credits

In regards to the photographic mockup, I played around with a few images of male faces I pulled from the internet. I am shooting tomorrow with the aim to capture a similar anonymity to this. I am going to be shooting young males to mirror the intended target market I believe if a man sees a man he can relate easier.

The intended outcome is a series of diptychs. The first photo being a still of a smile or a comfortable expression. Then the left is going to be the same subject spitting at the camera. Rough around the edges and raw. A simplified visual of the entire spitting process to display the entire story I have been writing previously but with more to it because of the person in the background.

I have chosen to go with the copy Spit Saves Lives because it says everything I have been intending in a straight forward honest voice. It is what it is, it drags the viewer in, it intrigues and more than anything is powerful. It begs the question - how can spit save lives?

[joshuajms]

FMP Final Meeting

Today I had my final meeting with Ray before I send my work. It was a revelation! I have moved from the hit and miss of the face illustrations into a form I haven’t explored since being at GDC but one that I know well, photography. I studied photography at GCSE and A Level but lost the confidence with the camera after coming to Chelsea. We discussed the power of photography used within Geigy’s work especially this packaging by Atelier Muller-Brockmann and Nelly Rudin for Tofranil a ‘mood brightener’ tablet. 

We discussed how the poster campaign of this project could be far simpler, stronger and more Swiss. We mocked up a type over image just with this quick image here. I think the beauty is in the multiplied type over black and white image. It, for me, is a far more elegant use of the orange and monochrome colour palette than I have previously made with the illustrations. The shot of my images would be more abstract to remove from the personality of the subject.

We also discussed finessing the logo mark and making it relate more to stem cells somehow as currently the circle Os are a bit flat. Ray suggested I make the word horizontal rather than one on top of the other like above.

[joshuajms]

At St. Luke’s we discussed the use of digital billboards and motion oppose to flat printed posters. The technology of today is definitely lending itself more to motion that flat graphics so they suggest I look at how the copy can lend itself to a visual similar to spitting. 

This concept ‘Spit Saves Lives’ suggests the spitting creates a new life. This is a preliminary scamp of an animation but an interesting thought. If I was to carry this concept further I would really need to look at the lightness of touch on execution as what I have currently made is clunky and heavy handed.

[joshuajms]

FMP Packaging Nets

Before I sent to print I wanted to check the proportions worked okay and everything was designed properly with my slip and box nets. This is printed on copier paper in the library and surprisingly holds up well with only two balls of blu-tac on the exterior.

Whilst I have found that the size is too big I am happy with the type size and general appearance. I do plan to remove a bit of the branding or type on the sides as this is just repetitive. Also noticed on one side the the type is upside down.

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London & Partners Revisited

I realised I haven’t really looked at the London & Partners brief for a while and I had this concept quite a long time ago. Using the hero colours from the flags to represent a transition or travel between places I think this works well on a digital billboard. This is a mockup from a photograph on the Shanghai Metro the intended place of advertising. 

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To go along with the colour, tone of voice and aesthetic shape up I decided a rebrand was essential to go with the look and feel of the new Anthony Nolan campaign. Aiming for the concept of the previous, linking two items together (stem cells) and creating a match. Far simpler than before I focused on just the Os as they are a pair, in an aesthetically pleasing positioned both lowercase. I feel the use of the Relative typeface by the Colophon foundry works successfully with the modern outlook and sits well against the Akzidenz Grotesk type elsewhere in the branding.

I created four choices with the outline, inline and stroke/fill of the Os. But feel the balance works best with the white circle black stroke.

[joshuajms]

St. Luke’s Creative Pitch

So the arranged a meeting with St. Luke’s, the creative agency I interned at this Easter, for creative feedback on my project so far. I got some positive feedback mostly relating to the illustrations and the copy. They discussed how their feedback will be coming from an advertising point of view and it may or may not be relevant. They said how my illustrations remind them of Noma Bar and so they were expecting something to occur within the white space. A second point I took from it that was useful is the concept of grabbing attention. If the copy is quiet the visual can’t be and vice versa. I either need to bring to life my copy or bring to life the imagery.

This is the presentation that I gave along with the introduction as such:

This is a re-design from poster to pack for the Anthony Nolan stem cell donor register. The aim of this project is to create a systematic shift in the way a stem cell donor register is recieved by simplifying the process of signing up. Rather than treating this as a brand’s product and attempting to sell the concept of donating, it is vital that people see this as a necessity and a civic duty. It should be an act of selflessness and responsibility.  

With that I have brought in a medical tone of voice, not to convince but to inform, with honesty rather than manipulation. A ‘Geigy house style’ approach has been adopted to create a simple and straight-forward visual language that will juxtapose the aesthetic of charity sector advertising and consumer-based advertising in general. I don’t see the need for a charity such as Anthony Nolan to have to try and shout to get people involved. It should be part of the culture we live in to help others whenever we can. This can be done by donating stem cells to help save the lives of people with blood cancer.

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FMP Packaging

I have arranged a meeting for creative feedback with St. Luke’s tomorrow lunchtime at about 12 so I needed to flesh out the design campaign. I cracked on with the packaging ready for the pitch. I have taken all of the type from the pack, that’s the kit and all the pieces of paper, and trimmed it down to the essentials to fit on the rear of a slip case box and one small sheet of paper.

The reason for a slip case box is to save on the mass packaging but also the opportunity to contain all of the essential information within one item. With the sticker on the front of the kit an image of the medical equipment inside I am eradicating excessive type and keeping the process clear and straight forward. I am not trying to be personal, nor impersonal just informative.

I have taken inspiration from the Geigy packaging by Markus Löw from 1967. These are colour samples for pesticide packaging but for me truly beautiful uses of the grid. It reminds me of a pantone swatch book with design that I’d be extremely happy to see around nowadays. The rear page of ‘Corporate Diversity: Swiss Graphic Design and Advertising by Geigy 1940-1970′ by Lars Muller Publishers is just incredible graphic design. To me, near perfect. I am aiming to create something of this calibre.

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FMP Poster Illustrations

Using the medical illustration and taking it into different mediums it is quite an interesting form to play around with. I have tried to make an interesting crop with the orange, similar to Aeschlimann’s posters for Geigy. With the second and third posters I am looking more at the form of man, attempting to play with white space and block colour of the orange.

The work for Geigy was particularly interesting because they saw their design and marketing departments as a ‘propaganda department’ producing positive propaganda towards the products rather than designing. It is also a very unique outlook to call it a corporate diversity as oppose to a corporate identity. The practice was defined by Hans Neuberg, a Swiss graphic design pioneer and design critic, as “solutions that make the abstract intelligible and comprehensive.

“Most of the Geigy graphic artists of the fifties and sixties met the specific design potential of these initial circumstances with a modernist formal idiot, through did so without the obligation to conform to any aesthetic formulas. Designers such as Max Schmid, Karl Gerstner, Gottfried Honegger, Nelly Rudin, Roland Aeschlimann, and Toshihiro Katayama produced a ‘unity in diversity’ in which visual symbolism and striking typography.”  

Taken from ‘Corporate Diversity: Swiss Graphic Design and Advertising by Geigy 1940-1970′ by Lars Muller Publishers, you can see how the illustrations are slightly cut off on the edges to create a more interesting visual than just a centred image.  

Just as Geigy’s design was refreshing and ambitious in the 1950s-60s it is forward-thinking now in this modern era for me to create something so clear, straight forward and functional.