grad604-harrylowe

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Post Modern Design

Postmodernist graphic design initially began to appear around the 1970s. This is where designers began to create freely. They looked to bend and break the pre-existing rules and conventions of design with the use of collage, distortion, vibrant colours and abstract type. The movement also incorporated styles such as techno, punk and grunge. Ultimately this design movement championed the individual expression of the designer, in contrast to the more function-oriented design movements that came prior (eg International Typographic Style). Key designers within this style include Paula Scher, April Grieman, David Carson, Neville Brody and many more.

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Research: Jamie Hawkesworth

Jamie Hawkesworth is a photographer born in the UK in 1987. He works as both a fashion and documentary photographer with his documentary photography being a point of interest for me. One of his key documentary works is a photo book called Preston Bus Station. In this, he looks to capture the essence of The Preston Bus Station building before it is demolished. What interests me and inspires me so much about this project is the relationship he creates between the people and the space. While there are many portraits throughout the book, the portraits themselves are not so much about the individuals in them but instead how they co-exist with the space and add to its narrative. By juxtaposing the space with the people it really makes the space a character and personifies it. I have explored similar ideas in some of my photography so seeing this project inspires my photographic practice.

[grad604-harrylowe]

Research: Jonathan Barnbrook

Jonathan Barnbrook is a Graphic Designer from the UK. He is the creator/head of Barnbrook Studios which has worked with many different people on creative projects. This includes musicians such as David Bowie and Rihanna as well as the well-known artist, Damien Hirst. This desire to work collaboratively with creatives across multiple industries is something that interests/inspires me with his work. As a musician, I would love to be able to take my design practice and use it as a way to interact with the music industry and create work within it. As well as this, I think his visual style has a very strong identity which has some of the characteristics of post modernism, but looks to push them forward into a more contemporary space.

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Research: David Bowie

David Bowie was a musician/singer-songwriter born in the UK on 8 January 1947. He was known worldwide as a musical innovator and influential creative, creating paintings and collecting art as well as Memphis Design Furniture. His most famous works include Heroes, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, Station to Station and Aladdin Sane amongst many others. While David Bowie is a musician my main influence from him as a creative does not come from his music but instead from his creative thinking. In the attached interview David Bowie proposes two key thoughts on creativity. One is about understanding the motivations for your work, staying true to yourself and remembering why you of what you do. The second is about pushing your creativity's limits and exploring new areas. These ideas really resonated with me and I will look to include these in my critical review as apart of the influential creatives in my practice.

[grad604-harrylowe]

Week 6 Task 1

What is Material Thinking?

My interpretation of material thinking is that it emphasises the importance of materiality and process rather than forming creativity through a purely conceptual lens. This means making can inform what is being made.

"The materials are not just passive objects to be used instrumentally by the artist, but rather the materials and processes of production have their own intelligence that come into play,"

"Material thinking is the magic of handling"

2. Choose one of the creatives from the lecture and describe their material thinking?

Marcos Steagall

In Marcos' work the material thinking comes through his engagement with the land and how that informs his own perception of the work. It also comes through his own photography process of setting up his camera and selecting a specific frame

3. How can material thinking be seen through your own work?

Having learned about the concept of material thinking I can now relate this to my own photography practice. Often my photography starts as a response to an idea/concept. But often once I am actually undertaking the process of photographing I will be informed by the environment around me a take shots I may not have initially had in mind.

4. How would reference the reading from today?

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Johnson Witehira

Johnson Witehira is a designer/artist of Maori and British descent. He studied for a Masters in Graphic Design in 2007 and later did a Doctorate in Māori visual arts in 2013. He states that his mission as an artist and designer is to “Bring Māori visual culture back into the lives of all Māori,”. This was born out of some of his thoughts while studying. He thought that Māori may be able to use knowledge of the mātauranga (knowledge) of the past in order to solve contemporary problems.

[grad604-harrylowe]

Tyrone Ohia

Tyrone Ohia was born in Tauranga but raised in Whanganui. He has worked previously for ALT Group but went on to found Extended Whanau. Extended Whanau has a lot of focus on Maori cultural design.

[grad604-harrylowe]

Desna Whaanga-Schollum

Desna was born on the East Coast of New Zealand. Her work mainly focuses on the idea of cultural identity, Specifically relating to her Maori heritage. She was one of the founding members of Ngā Aho (Māori Design Professionals Inc). Ngā Aho aims to champion Māori design practitioners, and engages in advocacy and education work.

[grad604-harrylowe]

SDL Week 2: Work from Aotearoa creatives

ALT Group / Dean Poole

Bathgate (studio)

Marcus Watson

Michael Parekowhai

Studio7

Dean Buchanan

Weta Workshop / Richard Taylor

Chloe Reweti

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SDL Week 1: Visual examples of other creatives

Nighthawks, painted by Edward Hopper

Boston album cover, designed by Paula Scher

Continuum album cover, designed by Smog Design, Inc

Californication album cover, designed by Lawrence Azerrad

Wish you were here album cover, designed by George Hardie, Hipgnosis's studio

Kid A album cover, designed by Stanley Donwood

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SDL Week 1: Design in the public arena

AF drinks is a non alcoholic drinks brand. Their branding/marketing plays on a double entendre statement of "Curious AF" where it celebrates "both the benefits of living a sober curious life while also being as irreverent AF,".

In terms of the design system and collateral/outputs, this was done by a New Zealand company called The Tuesday Club. Their company is quite unique compared to other studios as their appear to be both a studio and a maker space combined together. This means they both produce work for clients but also provide workshops and a maker space for people from many different creative industries.

Reference: https://thetuesdayclub.co.nz/projects/af-drinks/

[grad604-harrylowe]

SDL Week 1: Design in the public arena

Commercial Bay x FIFA women's world cup

This poster was created as part of an advertising campaign for commercial bay. The campaign relates to special events and in store deals occurring in support of New Zealand co hosting the Fifa women's World Cup.

In terms of who created this poster design I was unable to locate an exact source. However, based on the research I have done I believe it was likely done by a New Zealand design studio called Blink LTD. This studio did the graphic design work for the Commercial Bay launch campaign. They created some of the foundational aspects of commercial bays visual identity such as their logo and typeface. Based on this as well as the fact they have collaborated again after this, I believe Commercial Bay would have been likely to work with a design agency they already know in order to maintain consistency in their design outputs.

[grad604-harrylowe]

SDL Week 1: Design in the public arena

Closed campaign

The 'closed' campaign is an awareness campaign created by netsafe. It is intended to promote their netsafe safety week where they provide resources on digital safety. This campaign specifically runs the tag line "closed to harassment" and focuses on creating the tools for positive online experiences, specifically on social media.

In terms of the design system and collateral/outputs, this was done by a New Zealand design studio called Not Another. The studio defines itself as 'existing to drive positive change' which would explain their connection to this project. The studio is not only a graphic design but creates many other types of content such as videography and photography. Some of their most notable work is for the the All Blacks Experience in Auckland City.

[grad604-harrylowe]

SDL Week 1: Party Time

To begin with, I decided to break down the 5 creatives into different industries. I did this as I source creative inspiration from many different industries but would also be interested to mix creatives who would not typically be together at my party. I decided to pick on creative from each of the following industries 

Musician

Artist

Designer

Photographer 

Director 

From those industries I picked the following creatives. Musician: Jimi Hendrix, Artist: Banksy, Designer (TBC), Photographer: Annie Leibovitz, Director: Wes Anderson.

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SDL Week 1: Design in the public arena (examples)

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Week 1 Lecture Reflection

For the presentations by Jordan and Kyani it was very interesting to learn about their process for synthesising their personal experiences into a design system for social good through the use of research. They choose to explore cultural issues where people feel dissociated from their cultural heritage as they do not fit the ‘mould’ that has been created for them by others. They were able to take inspiration from their own experiences and the understand the implications this had on a wider audience.