Poetry Poster Essay
School of Visual Communication | BA (Hons) Visual Communication
Personal Module Evaluation (approx. 1000 words)
In your own words, how did you understand the problem you were asked to solve?
Firstly I started off by printing out the brief and going through it top to bottom several times to make sure I understood every specific thing of what was getting asked of me. To further this I then looked at the module guide which went into more detail of what I had to solve and produce. I was given 5 weeks to research and develop our work across various media such as Sketchbooks, online blog etc. I was to show an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice. Secondly to produce excellent visual solutions and showcase that I was informed by key subject ideas.
Furthermore, the aim of the module was to explore persuasive communication as âVisual Poetryâ maximising on experimentation and interdisciplinary approaches in line with the course philosophy.
As my first solo module, this project was in a way to test my skills. The first time having to properly follow a brief. Meaning; in the first brief we had total freedom of what item to choose and what to create from that items inspiration. However, with this, itâs a little more specific. Which I prefer as in a sense itâs more controlled, I know what the âclientâ is asking for, what specs, what style etc.
To create a poetry poster is interesting to me, I like the ideology of it especially as Iâve made several digital posters before on my BTEC graphic course. The specs are as followed: Size being A2 (portrait), can be printed, digital or interactive and I may consider 3D applications.
Who were you designing or producing work for?
On the Main Brief it was made clear that March 21st, 2018 is International poetry day and we were to create a poster to promote our chosen poet.Â
From the brief: Using a poem of my choice, create a publicising and meaningful poster to showcase the poet and poem. The use of persuasive language will help engage an audience. Consider using the lectures and workshops available to give myself a head start. Also look into the documents and guides put on to Moodle to help, they may give me important information on the principles and elements of design and typefaces and anatomy.
Secondly, I have to make this for a certain target audience; that could be likers of the poet or poem, people interested in to poetry overall or just have a keen interest for typographical posters.
In a way as well we are designing this for our tutors to review and receive feedback from, not just to receive a mark and be done with it but to help us better ourselves and tell us what an âaudienceâ would get from it by first impressions etc.
What relevant theory, reading or research underpinned your approach to solving the problem?
I started of by using my sketchbook as a kind of journey logbook, which itâs supposed to be anyway. I attended lectures and participated and became more aware of various methods and options which were available to me. Various tasks on the course have helped me in certain ways to come up with my ideas. One of the first tasks was to simply find one principle of design and one element and we were to print out an A6 postcard showcasing our findings. I chose to line and pattern. Pattern being a massive inspiration as for a poster itâd be appealing, and itâd draw the viewer in. More about this is in my previous blog post about Design Principles.
The next task after this was called Micro & Macro, this was again not a hard task and quite fun. We were given wooden letterforms to basically scale and draw out; this doesnât sound like it would help but the â0â I was given was a very strong and bold character and from doing research into it, turns out to be the typeface âImpactâ. Which I then went on to use in my designs for my magazine spreads.
What were the best ideas you came up with and how do you know that? &
How did you develop your ideas before choosing a particular one to produce?
In terms of ideas I was mainly swaying towards creating something digital as I went to a demonstration of Jonathan Jonesâ work and he showed us various pieces of digital styles and ideas using Adobe After Effects. Straight away I wanted to do create something digital. I believe one of my ideas was to use After Effects and have a slowed down clip of me walking the canal, with a voice over by me reading the poem and to have the words come up on screen as I say them. My other good ideas were to make the video fast and also have the words come up fast; inspired by the Nike advert which was showed to the group during a presentation.
Sadly even after getting a hold of After Effects, it was just too much for my laptop to run. It kept on crashing and I had to try my hand in creating the film again twice. This started to frustrate me, so I thought Iâd keep a formal and digital approach, so this is where one of my best ideas stemmed from. The City River Blues GIF. This in a sense was very similar to the idea of the sped-up canal video. But, looking at the video I recorded there was a certain part where I recorded the light reflection bouncing off the water; it was appealing to the eye. I thought this would be a great GIF/Animated poster and with experience in the bag on how to create GIFS, I just thought it was one of the best ideas but not THE best. After designing it I thought it just wasnât enough; I didnât feel like it met the criteria like my final design did. My final and best idea was to create an A2 poster and for it to be interactive and 3D. I wanted this to have life to it. Taking the poem into mind and my own experience walking the canal system, it gave me one main idea and that was to create a collage-like painting/sculpture of the river bed.
Which relevant practitioners did you study in order to validate your personal reasoning?
I chose to look into Ivan Cherymayeff as Iâve considered his work before and he came to mind when I was walking down the canal and I saw these brown paper bags floating in the water and it looked messy but coordinated and somehow it just reminded of his work, thus getting the inspiration to make a collage type poster. My second inspiration was from Tracey Emin âMy bedâ. I have a separate post about this for more information overall but basically my idea at this point was a collage to do with the canal; linking to the words from Benjamin Zephaniahâs poem. There were certain words in that poem (s***-coloured river, condoms galore) which made me think of âMy bedâ by Emin and instantaneously I had the idea to make my poster very visual and even have a certain smell to it. I wanted to put the audience there, like there were with Benjamin as he was writing or even living the experience/poem.
What editing process did you use to choose the preferred solution?
For the actual A2 poster, nothing. It was all handmade
But for the GIF, it was simply photoshop
How did you go about producing your solution/s and why? & Why did you choose your particular production methods? Give reasons
I started off by buying an A2 foam board from the university shop to follow the brief as that is the desired size. Following day, I laid out a bigger piece of card (which I had left over from the previous module), so I wouldnât get paint on my carpet; want to make sure I get my deposit back! I chose to use paint as Iâm not that strong with painting yet and feel like it needs improving so it was a risk but at the same time I had the paint and the utensils already, so it was more handy/practical.
So I started off by painting the board using brown paint which visually is the colour of the canal but itâs also to link to the line âour s***-coloured riverâ. I then painted the board with a wave/swirl effect to have the pattern and feel like it was water.
Once that was done I then went over it with ash water to give it the smell and to add a gloss to the paint. But this is also to link the line âGot damned lungsâ from the poem. Next was the adding of 3D items; I began stapling the cigarette butts to the board as I didnât have strong enough glue for them to hold. I decided to add these as again to link with the previously quoted line from the poem and from my experience down the canalâŚitâs all you see, in and out of the water.
Furthermore, I then dirtied up a receipt and burned up train tickets to look like theyâve been well-used and in the water for a while. I applied these with PVA glue as this was just strong enough to hold these. Putting a train ticket in the top right and bottom left corner; the receipt in the top left. I done this to show pattern and symmetry. This left the bottom right empty and I already knew what was going there. I got a condom wrapper and burned it at the sides and applied this with staples in each corner so itâs stable but also coming out of you in the 3D sense. Lastly this is the last linked item to the poem, the line being âAnd condoms galoreâ. Now for the centre/main piece. Going back to the whole brown bag/Ivan Cherymayeff inspiration, I decided to dirty up a brown bag and then paint (white) in sans-serif typeface the title of the poem âCity River Bluesâ. I then glued this to the board but making sure you can still have access to the bag. This is where my interactive idea comes to play. I then cut a piece of paper out from my old sketchbook and then again began the dirtying process, once dry I drew out in blue crayon a phrase from the poem. Once done I placed it in the bag and that was my final piece done.
In the whole processâŚ
What was successful and why?
I believe my final designs overall, magazine, GIF and my A2 Poster were all majority meeting the learning outcomes and brief.Â
My poster being the right/required size, being interactive which I think is a whole new term when it comes to my poster and overall, I add another sense into the mix - smell. As I said before I wanted to immerse the audience into my poster, so it genuinely feels like theyâre in that environment. My GIF was more appealing and for more of a side piece, I still feel like this was a strong and very appealing visual.
What was unsuccessful and why?
I feel like my overall planning and timekeeping was a downfall as I ran into problems near the end, if I started sooner then I wouldnât of had those problems or at least had more time to deal with them and then giving me reassurance when it came to my final designs. Even though Iâm happy with my final poster design, I still wanted to go the whole film route and I just donât think the poster is visually appealing as I first wanted from the get go.
How will you modify or change your approach in future?
From now I will plan and start a lot sooner, straight away work on my blog and sketchbook but keeping it organised and coordinated to help me in the future if I want to look back. I would also like to do more mock-up designs in the future to show my progress and ideas.
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Tracey Emin Research and Inspiration
Tracey Emin, CBE, RA (born 3 July 1963)Â is an English contemporary artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and sewn appliquĂŠ. Once the âenfant terribleâ of the Young British Artists in the 1980s, Tracey Emin is now a Royal Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts
In 1999, Emin had her first solo exhibition in the United States at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, entitled Every Part of Meâs Bleeding. Later that year, she was a Turner Prize nominee and exhibited My Bed â a readymade installation, consisting of her own unmade dirty bed, in which she had spent several weeks drinking, smoking, eating, sleeping and having sexual intercourse while undergoing a period of severe emotional flux. The artwork featured used condoms and blood-stained underwear.
Iâve personally been there and I can sayâŚyes itâs quite weird and a bit sickening but at the same time actually astonishing and very urban/street.
Benjamin Zephaniahâs poem âCity River Bluesâ certainly reminded me of this and gave me the idea for my final project.
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This is a GIF I made for my poetry poster based on the poem âCity River Bluesâ by Benjamin Zephaniah.
The text I used is Proxima Nova and the GIF image layers are taken from a video I recorded of me walking down the canal.
I speak about this more in my essay (soon to be posted) and why I didnât make this my final design.
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ARKITEKT Magazine
The Brief
1 - Design a front cover and two double page spreads for a new magazine called Arkitekt
2 - The target audience is both male and female readers with an interest in architecture and architectural design. Arkitekt is a high end-end magazine aimed at students, professionals and amateurs who value an informed awareness of and knowledge of international contemporary design.
3 - The format of the magazine is up to me. The double page spreads should include in the region of 1,000 words, selected by myself. The opening spread must include images, introductory copy, and a title detail. The second spread should house the remaining copy and images. I must originate a masthead for Arkitekt magazine and apply this to the front cover together with imagery and supporting text. The design system you adopt must demonstrate scope so that the design solution can function well for future issues.
Photo used is a photo I took in the Custard Factory.
Title, sub-title and Issue No. is Proxima Nova with no fill and stroke and outer glow applied.
Century Gothic was used for the slogan/catchline
You will notice through all the photos that there is a theme going on and I even tried to utilise that in second front cover design to show that this could be made for future issues.
Just like the last front cover, the typeface are the same. However the changes are the name and colour of the edition, the colour of the triangle fade, the slogan, the barcode and last of all the building in coventry.
This was just to show there could be progression so this is not linked to my double page spreads
The double paged spreads are linked to the Birmingham edition as you will be able to tell.
As you can see from what I have said; they have a certain theme about them. I noticed in all the birmingham photos I took and actually liked, there was a use of pink somewhere so I thought I would incorporate that into my design. itâs strong and bold and really works with most sans-serif typefaces. The left image is from the canal side of The Mailbox, I wanted the slogan to in a sense be a pun linking to the mailbox. The typeface for this and the âTâ on page 4 are âImpactâ.
I used âBerlin Sans FBâ for the body text and âBaskerville old faceâ for the number pages. The top right image is taken on the way to The Mailbox and the last image is taken inside the The Mailbox on the ground floor.
My last double page spread for my âArkitektâ magazine
The âCUSTARD FACTORYâ is designed to emulate the actual sign board at the Custard Factory. âProximaâ Nova is used again for this title. Body text being âBerlin Sans FBâ again and same typeface for the page numbers. The images used are taken from the Custard Factory; the images speak truthfully on what place is like as a whole; a very modern and urban/street environment.
If you have any questions about this module/project, or just anything at all then youâre free to ask me
Just send me a question or a message
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Scamps for my âARKITEKTâ magazine
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City River Blues
Went to the river
Seeking inspiration,
Saw dead fish floating
Dead men boating
And condoms galore.
Sat by the river
Wondering,
From where cometh
Dat bloody smell,
For if I waz wize
And I could tell
The world would know.
This is our river
It runs through our lives
This is our river
Our shit-coloured river,
Itâs had it
But itâs ours.
This river speaks
Every boot had a body
Every shirt had a friend,
And the old boys
Say they shall all meet
Where every river ends.
Here by the river
Joe Public wrote songs
And ships came
From far away,
Capitalism lived here,
Ships left from here,
To cheat someone,
Somewhere.
This river is on the map
The Queen came here,
The King came here,
Hitler bombed it,
Joe Bloggs bombed it,
A hundred factories
Bomb it every day,
But this river wonât go away,
They say.
Went to the river
Seeking inspiration,
Got eco-depression,
Got stopped and searched,
Got called a coon,
Got damned lunges,
Got city river blues.
from Propa Propaganda (Bloodaxe, 1996) - Benjamin Zephaniah
ANALYSIS
Context (what else was going on in the world at this time?)
23 to 26 January â Much of Britain is struck with sub-zero temperatures and snowstorms. Schools and transport are disrupted.
5 February â The first genetically modified food products go on sale in the UK
17 April â the Duke and Duchess of York are divorced after ten years of marriage and four years after their separation.
11 May â Manchester United win the FA Cup for a record ninth time by beating Liverpool 1â0 and also become the first team to win the double of the league title and FA Cup twice.
26 June â England's hopes of being European champions of football for the first time are ended with a penalty shootout defeat to Germany after a 1â1 draw in the semi-final.
12 July â South African President Nelson Mandela visits the UK.
30 July â Alan Shearer becomes the most expensive footballer in the world in a ÂŁ15,000,000 transfer from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United.
14 August â Unemployment has fallen to 2,126,200 â its lowest level since the summer of 1991.
5 September â Matthew Harding, Vice-Chairman of Chelsea FC, makes a ÂŁ1,000,000 donation to the Labour Party â the largest donation made to the party by any individual.
Â
Meaning
The Poet went to the Birmingham city river for inspiration and what he found is what he expected but at the same time surprised. What he found was an urban grimy scene of disappointment.
Heâs disgusted but he appreciates that it is his cities river.
He then starts to distinguish the history of the river by saying what items belong here and who partners that item.
He then delves further into more topical times, saying that capitalism has lived there, the queen and king from different eras have been there.
He then lists the people who have bombed the city and sums up that the industrial city of Birmingham even though it was bombed, the river still stands!
He then concludes at what he experienced at the river
He went there for inspiration but what he experienced was totally flipped; he got eco-depression from what smell and scenery of the river. He got stopped by police and searched and then had racist abuse lashed at him
He doesnât say if this is linked but it makes you think that the whole racial profiling stigma based on todayâs society. He then goes on to say he suffered from damned lungs, this suggests the smell was horrible and maybe even there was pollution of tobacco and factories.
Furthermore, he said that he got City River Blues, linking it back to the name of the poem. This suggests three things to me, water is normally blue but from what he said about the colour then we can gather that is not what he means from that.
So in conclusion the poem links to the Birmingham colour blue which is used for the BCFCâs jersey colour and a nickname for the club and fans. But the real meaning I believe is that he meant he got the blues from seeing the river which also links to the previous line âGot eco-depressionâ, showing that he was severely depressed from what he seen. Therefore the title/poem is very strong as there is a lot of meaning behind it with the links of the city and depression, the use of word-play is very smart and overall is a great poem.
 Syntax
The way the poem is ordered is like a story from when he got to the river, then tells us what he has stumbled upon, describes it and then comes to an end by saying what he witnessed and what heâs taken away from it.
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Benjamin Zephaniah
My chosen poet
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Â is a British writer, dub poet and Rastafarian. He was included in The Timeslist of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.
Zephaniah was born and raised in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, which he has called the "Jamaican capital of Europe".
He writes that his poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry
of Jamaica and what he calls "street politics".
His 1982 album Rasta, which featured The Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley as well as a tribute to Nelson Mandela, gained him international prestige and topped the Yugoslavian pop charts. It was because of this recording that he was introduced to the political prisoner and soon-to-be South African president Nelson Mandela, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Zephaniah was poet in residence at the chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, and sat in on the inquiry into Bloody Sunday and other cases, these experiences leading to his Too Black, Too Strong poetry collection (2001). We Are Britain!(2002) is a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain.
It was 1996 the book âProp Propagandaâ by Zephaniah was published.Â
Brutal, honest & powerful, Zephaniahâs book of poems and lyrics, written about british life and politics in 1900s, definitely correlate with current times. âThe Death of Joyce Gardnerâ, âBack To Whatâ (sent to ex-prime minister John Major), âActs of Parliament: motion 1â˛, âThe president is dead againâ (dedicated to Ken Saro-Wiwa, and his comrades), and âThe Queen & Iâ stand out. And lastly my chosen poem City River Blues which I will delve more into in a separate post. A must for fans of Zephaniah besides those with an interest in modern poetry.Â
Another interesting fact is that he has a few acting roles under his belt as well but his most recent work is the role of âJeremiah Jesusâ in the BBC Two TV show âThe Peaky Blindersâ. One of my favourite shows and one of the many reasons why I chose Zephaniah as my go to guy for my poetry poster.
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Micro & Macro
We started off this task with an A2 piece of paper and a pencil.
The job was to recreate the letterform as you see it (backwards), scale the letterform up, taking great care to subtle lines, curves and details you can observe on the wooden letterform.
I started with the number â0â˛. I began to measure it as you can tell by the image. The â0Ⲡbeing 1.9cm x 4cm. The inner circular shape (counter) is 0.7cm from top, bottom & the sides. The typeface is impact
The I went on to draw out another typeface; this being different as itâs a Serif typeface. This one being more trickier then the last as it was quite sharp and there was many strokes to measure. I couldnât find the typeface for this one but there are similar ones such as âEngravers MTâ, âGoudy old styleâ and âModern No.20â˛.
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Mini Task - Design Principles
Brief: Choose at least one from each list to research and find an example of. Print out the examples as A6 postcards and bring them into the next session.
The principles of design
BALANCE â What is balance in terms of design? Can you find examples of this?
PROXIMITY â What does proximity mean? Can you find designs which convey this?
ALIGNMENT â Define the term alignment. Find examples of design that align. REPETITION â Define the term repetition. Find examples of design or art portraying this principle.
CONTRAST â What does contrast mean? Find examples of design to represent this principle.
SPACE â Define the term space. Find examples of design or art portraying this principle.
The elements of design
LINE â What is line in terms of design? Can you find examples of this?
SHAPE â What does shape mean in terms of design? Find examples of design to represent this element of design.
DIRECTION âWhat does direction mean in terms of design? Find examples of design to represent this element of design.
SIZE â What is size in terms of design? Can you find examples of this?TEXTURE â What is texture in terms of design? Can you find examples of this?COLOUR â What is colour in terms of design? Can you explore CMYK, RGB and Pantone colours? Can you find examples of these?
Definition of Repetition
Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer. There are several types of repetition commonly used in both prose and poetry.
As a rhetorical device, it could be a word, a phrase or a full sentence, or a poetical line repeated to emphasize its significance in the entire text. Repetition is not distinguished solely as a figure of speech, but more as a rhetorical device.
âTo Be Exactly the Same Over and Over Again - Repetition in Artâ
Without a doubt, rhythm in art can be considered one of the fundamental principles of art and its production. Interested in exploring more and understanding in depth yet another of its elements, the repetition in art is quite possibly one of the most interesting methods that the artists implement to create a certain movement, stillness, design, confusion, to rebel against the notion of tradition, re-define the idea of the original and the copies, or to cast true focus on one part of the artwork that either makes the work more visible or purposely invisible. Seen as one of the most important techniques for reduction, repetition is used in an equal amount both in music and visual arts and is seen as both aesthetic and poetic device.
Definition of Repetition in Art
Before we return to the some of the most memorable pieces of repetition in art and turn our focus on its history, we need to take a step back to mention the definition of repetition in the visual production. Seen as one of the fundamentals of creativity, repetition, in a similar manner to the rhythm, helps to create a sense of movement within an artwork. In visual production, it is a recurrence of a particular line, pattern, shape, or other visual elements in a single or part of the series. The production of something which is repetitive yet at the same time exciting is a challenge, as many consider the recurrence as boring and still. This element many authors used on purpose to comment on the state of the world around us and to challenge the public to slow down the race for the achievement of consumerism gods and idols. Sometimes the repeat is used to build a sense of tension if no variations are implemented and it is often in the subtle detail that the key to the understanding of such pieces lies.
The unofficial king of repetitive art, Andy Warhol is the legend of the Pop art phenomenon and one of the most commercialized names of the 20th century. Inspired by the imagery of popular culture, Warhol simultaneously celebrated and criticized consumption choices and mass (re)production, effectively turning his work into a repetitive whirlwind and establishing the grounds for the most successful PostâWorld War II art movement. Working in a wide range of media including printmaking, painting, hand drawing, silk screening, sculpture, photography, music and film, Warhol became famous and influential for his repetitive images of soup cans, soda bottles, dollar bills and iconic portraits of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Carter, Prince and Elizabeth Taylor. Andy would often insert identical pictures into one piece, assembling them with discipline and differencing them only with colour. These illustrations, prints, and posters of the same subjects repeated in regular rows are some of the most iconic images of the 20th century, credited with re-defining many concepts and setting new standards in contemporary art.
Line
A line is an identifiable path created by a point moving in space. It is one-dimensional and can vary in width, direction, and length. Lines often define the edges of a form. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, straight or curved, thick or thin. They lead your eye around the composition and can communicate information through their character and direction.
A Storm on the Mediterranean Coast, Claude-Joseph Vernet, 1767
Horizontal lines suggest a feeling of rest or repose because objects parallel to the earth are at rest. In this landscape, horizontal lines also help give a sense of space. The lines delineate sections of the landscape, which recede into space. They also imply continuation of the landscape beyond the picture plane to the left and right.
Saint Bavo, Haarlem, Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, 1634
Vertical lines often communicate a sense of height because they are perpendicular to the earth, extending upwards toward the sky. In this church interior, vertical lines suggest spirituality, rising beyond human reach toward the heavens.
Cabinet, French, about 1785
Horizontal and vertical lines used in combination communicate stability and solidity. Rectilinear forms with 90-degree angles are structurally stable. This stability suggests permanence and reliability.
A Storm on the Mediterranean Coast, Claude-Joseph Vernet, 1767
Diagonal lines convey a feeling of movement. Objects in a diagonal position are unstable. Because they are neither vertical nor horizontal, they are either about to fall or are already in motion. The angles of the ship and the rocks on the shore convey a feeling of movement or speed in this stormy harbour scene.
Pool, Saint-Cloud, Eugène Atget, 1915â1919
The curve of a line can convey energy. Soft, shallow curves recall the curves of the human body and often have a pleasing, sensual quality and a softening effect on the composition. The edge of the pool in this photograph gently leads the eye to the sculptures on the horizon.
The Beauty of the Love Between Science and Art
The famous Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci was above all an inventor pushed on by his inquisitive mind and a desire to learn more and understand the entire world around him. His detailed anatomical drawings may not be so accurate concerning what we have learned about the human body but are the most beautiful examples of the traditional form of drawing. The pencil sketches showcase the mastery and the precise guidance of the hand. The dark sections that are built with the use of lines display the way in which lines of different directions can be employed to produce a contrast between light and dark areas on the paper without the help of dark colours. The scientific approach to art and his need to investigate the world around him helped the painter to produce some of the most mesmerizing images of the human figure and pushed the limits and boundaries of science and art.
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This was our manifesto which I designed for âl4 introduction to visual communicationâ (Sashimono module). I looked into various manifestos online and majority of them were styled in a big chunky paragraph and were very snappy and straight to the point. With this in mind, I started to write down a few basic things about our project. Keeping it simple but yet trying to cover the most important things. I then took my idea to photoshop where I started with a blank A4 page and started off by using Proxima Nova typeface. I had it all in Proxima Nova and in black at first but I wanted my manifesto to be quite clever and actually have a hidden meaning to it. So I wanted to include mine, Kurtisâ and Danâs chosen Kanji into the design. All three words being Hope, Strength and Blood. I tried changing it all around and eventually it came together and I managed to include those words. However they didnât stand out, not even when I just changed the colour to red to go with the whole theme of the project. I then decided to look elsewhere for a typeface which was linear and had the whole stroke style to it. From here all I had to do was change the words to that typeface and I was finished. With the red oriental type reading âSashimono is Blood, Strength and Hopeâ.Â
For a 10-20 minute idea and design, I believe itâs a strong manifesto. Received good feedback and personally think itâs a good typography piece just on itâs own.
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L4 Introduction to Visual Communication - Part 2
Third Step
Now began the design process. I had my ideas thanks to my research, so I started to design a few ideas on Photoshop.
As I stated before, I wanted to use the triskelion in my design and as you can see, I have put it as my centre piece, surrounded by red and black outlined circles. There is reasoning to the colour and design. The two circles are from another aspect of the tv show (teen wolf), these two circles are a tattoo on the lead characters arm but are also used to represent him and his pack. The bottom corner is meant to represent an arrow head, linking to the hunters of the tv show and as sashimonos were mostly used in battle then I thought this would be a good idea to use. The colour scheme is chosen as it is two colours which are used massively in Japanese art especially red as that represents the sun on the japan flag. Which is what I was trying to emulate with the two circles; trying to go for in-yo vibe. Now that I was happy with my design; the hard part came along.
Fourth Step
We began by buying the piece of fabric; I say that as it was small, but we had about 2.5 metres of fabric to play with. Once all three of us in my group had our designs ready, we started to measure up the fabric and draw on three templates for each design. We somewhat had intentions to make a Collab piece but werenât too sure if we were going to have enough fabric. Luckily enough after cutting out all three, we had plenty to spare.
After we had all the fabric cut out, we then went back to the shop and bought all necessary paints and brushes. After that we went to my flat and got started on the designing our sashimonos.
Back at the flat we took it in turns to paint our own banner as there was limited space, this gave time to revise my design and change a few things about it. Once the others were done, I started to stencil/free hand my design on to a piece of card as I wanted to make sure it looked as neat as possible and being not too confident in my painting skills.
I had my design drew out and I was really impressed. I decided to make the triskelion bigger and have it overlap the red circle, so the triskelion stood out more. Now that this process was completed it was time to cut out the card and turn them into stencils.
I laid the stencil over the fabric and started to simply paint over it. Not taking me long at all. Once the stencil was taken off it was a bit uneven, so I had to go over it again free handed with the smallest brush I had. Just to make sure it was perfect.
At this point I had painted the black and red circle and it was time to paint the triskelion. With the triskelion stencil already cut, I delved in and use a medium brush to stroke in the black paint. Again, with all three things I painted (Black and red circle and triskelion), they were uneven once I took off the stencils so therefore I had cleaned them all up.
2/3 completed and I was getting tired, but I didnât want to stop and carry it over the next day, I wanted to complete this on the same night. 1am rolled over and I was ready to finish it off. However though, throughout the painting I was swayed off the idea of having the red arrow in the bottom corner. I started to like the symmetrical style of my banner.
Therefore, I had an idea to add a thick black strip to the top and bottom, linking to the outer black circle and thinner red strip inwards to the black strip and linking to the inner red circle. This also kept the colours flowing in a pattern style, going black, red, black, red, black, red, black. Whichever way you looked at it! Almost done, I decided to pin it up and see it from afar.
I was over the moon, massively impressed on how it came out, I had to cover a few blemishes on the way and using masking tape was a massive success to get the clean lines. At this point I felt like I finished but one last thing needed adding.
The hope kanji.
And we were finally finished! I used another stencil again for the kanji. I drew it free hand on to the stencil and went from there. So, it still had the whole hand drawn effect, but I wanted to make no errors at this point as otherwise I would have screwed myself over!
Fifth Step
The fifth step was the easiest part, all I had to was add my design onto the Collab piece which was already painted thanks to Kurtis from the group and already featured his and Danâs design. All I had to do was paint mine on; I just reused the stencils as a template but free handed the most of it as I had to shrink it down in size; it came out looking like this in the end.
All three of our designs looked great together and worked really was a collaborative piece!
Final Step
Now it was time for the final step, which was simply present your work. Our group decided to add holders to each banner to make it look more authentic. Sadly, in the process of putting these on as it was last minute, my banner was showcased upside down as the holders were on the wrong way. Lucky, it is symmetrical! Also, would like to add that this error has been adjusted and my banner is 100% the way it should be.
As you can see from the picture that my banner is upside down as I stated, and you could cross reference it from previous pictures and note that. But it was simply a time and fault issue and has been amended like I said. These are all our banners together and personally I think they look astonishing as a set and we received some really good feedback for the time and effort we put into it.
As you can tell we did discuss the use of colours and how we only wanted to stick to white, black and red (most used colours for sashimonos). All are very simple and geometric, and all feature a Kanji. The colour scheme as well going from left to right with three personal banners is appealing as well. This was well thought about and I think very well executed.
In conclusion, for this to be my first collaborative piece at university level and to also be generally my first module at university; to come away with a final piece and Collab piece such as that has really impressed others and myself. I came out of this with something which will look great in my portfolio, something which pushed me out of comfort zone and ventured with new methods and overall coming out with a grade Iâm proud to have.
If you have any further questions about this project, anything at all then just send a question my way or direct message me.
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Library and City challenge - 26th September
The instructions:
In our groups of three we were given a number, that number was located on two images around the course room. Once we located the images, we had to either note down the information and/or take photos. Lastly go find out about these images.
The Library task was simple, take out the book and bring it to the next session. Find out about the book and just generally delve into whatâs it about, who wrote it and how it links to Graphic Design. Showcase the findings by displaying them in a sketchbook or presentation.
The City Task took a bit more effort. In our group you had to find the location, take our own photo of that location, print it out and preview it in our sketchbooks or a presentation, and have our findings ready for the next session.
On Tuesday 26th September
Our group (Number 9) went first to showcase the findings to the rest of the course.
We first started off by introducing ourselves, where we were from and why we chose and why we were interested in Graphic Communication. From there is where our presentation began.Â
CITY TASK
We started off with the image for the City task (below) and stating the information we were given to find the location:
Activity:Â Postcode: B1 2HS
What style of Architecture is this building and who built it?
What is the next exhibition?
Tell us one other interesting fact?
Take your own photo
The image looked familiar as I thought Iâve seen it before. So therefore, I searched the postcode into maps and found that the location was âIkon Galleryâ, a place I have been a few times.
In the presentation we discussed and answered the questions we were given about that location. Basically, talking about where it is, that itâs a neo-Gothic building designed by John Henry Chamberlain. What the next exhibitions were, which me and the rest of my group had a chance to see.
Exhibitions were as followed:Â
Portrait of the Artist: Käthe Kollwitz
Sofia HultĂŠn: Hereâs the Answer, Whatâs the question?
Anna Molska: The Weavers
Käthe Kollwitzâs work was quite dark/morbid. Etching of grim scenes using media such as ink, chalk & charcoal. Some titles mentioned death or illness.
Sofia HultĂŠn was very random, her exhibition had all sorts of art. She mainly dabbles in sculpture/puzzle design, but also makes videos which question normality. I highly recommend looking into Sofia as some of her work is unforgettable!
Lastly Anna Molska, this was in the last room at the Ikon Gallery (Tower Room) and it was basically a 12-minute documenting a rebellion of weavers.
These are all still available to see at this moment in time at the Ikon Gallery but do end soon. The day the exhibition ends for each is 26th November.
More info at https://ikon-gallery.org/
Furthermore, we had to just find out one more interesting fact about the Gallery. We decided to find out two interesting facts:
Ikon is an educational charity and works to encourage public engagement with contemporary art through exhibiting New York in a context of debate and participation.
Ikonâs learning programme is supported by Arts Connect West Midlands, Birmingham City University and the Michael Marsh Charitable Trust.Â
The next slide and last slide of the City Task was this photo:
This simply showed that we had been to the location and taken our own photo; thus, completing all the city tasks.
LIBRARY TASK
The second part of the whole challenge
This is the image we were given for the library task. The information given is as followed:
Heller, Steven, 1950-;
Rand, Paul
Paul Rand
Phaidon, 1999
741.6092/RAN
Knowing the information and possibly what the front cover of the book will look like or at least feature. Our group went to the library and again without no struggle, found the book matching the information.Â
Overall with that we just brought it in to show everyone, but we also spoke a bit about Paul Rand, how he was a massive influence in the graphic design industry and overall a great person to research or even just to look for inspiration.
CONCLUSION
I felt like this was another good intro task as it formed friendships within the course and was an ice breaker. Puts you out of your comfort zone especially presenting to your fellow class mates. Secondly, this is another step in the right direction as this is what some situations will be like when youâre showcasing youâre designs to a group of clients. Furthermore, I took a lot away from this such as confidence talking to larger groups of people, knowledge of artists Iâve never heard of but thanks to the task I now do. Lastly, most important receiving good feedback from tutors who appreciated the bravery of going first and overall liking the presentation as we covered everything.Â
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