olliesmithgraphics

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Bakers Dozen Task- 3 Course Meal

For this task we were instructed to cook a 3 course meal and record the process. For my 3 course meal I cooked spicy barbecue chicken burgers with chips and salad as a side and nachos as a starter. For me, I wanted to organise the picture I took into a clean composition to present onto my blog as too many images on top of each other can look too cluttered. To do this I took my images into photoshop and used the measurement tools to measure out the spacings in-between each picture to get a neat and clean composition.

This way of presenting something on my blog is something that I have been doing recently with my previous work but I haven't always done it. I think this way makes my blog look more clean and I take pride in my own work when presenting it. I think the purpose of this task was for the audience to see how I present my work as everyone presents their work in a unique way. My blog is something I enjoy making look organised and it helps me to present processes and work I have completed through pictures, gifs, videos, evaluations etc. 

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Bakers Dozen Task- Read a Book

For this task I have started to read a book called ‘Know Your Onions- Graphic Design’. This book has really given me a new way of trying to think of ideas. After getting through the introduction of the book, you begin the chapter of ‘Thinking’.

This chapter has expanded my knowledge on trying to think of ideas and different methods and ways of idea generating. Although I haven't read the book completely it has already started to inspire me to think about design and to live and breathe graphic design. If I am able to do this then I will get the most out of my experience starting this course. 

I will continue to use this book throughout my year because of the depths the chapters go into. There are chapters based on different processes which I can use as a starting point when I want to experiment a new process.

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Bakers Dozen Task- Series of Films

For this task I chose to look into films directed by Ridley Scott; Ridley Scott has always been a director I have taken interest in due to his passion for Science Fiction within these films. Ridley Scott takes careful detail when exploring the universes and tones within the various films he has directed. An Example film which he has directed that have these qualities is Alien. Before properly sitting down and watching the film looking for interesting aspects of the film I watched the trailer to see how Ridley Scott put together shots from the film to make the audience interested in seeing the film. 

Ridley Scott uses suspense and fast paced imagery to get the audience startled along with loud music. The trailer is a snippet into the tone of the film which then works with the audience as they are intrigued to see the full film. Now having watched the trailer and Identified the qualities of fast paced imagery and loud startling noises I wanted to delve into watching the film. 

The first qualities of the film I noticed from the start is the lack of noise compared to the trailer. I think the lack of noise is more effective because it adds mystery and having the constant fear of the unknown shows the depth and loneliness of space. The silence and quiet noises within the space ship show the atmosphere that the characters in the film have to go through. As well as looking into the lack of noise within the film, I started to look at the compositions of some of the shots. 

This shot interested me in particular because of the sense of depth and darkness within the frame. This is something that plays along with the lack of sound in the film adding more to the sense of mystery and fear or the unknown which is a fear everyone can relate to. 

The other film I looked at directed by Ridley Scott is one of the films that has most influenced me when looking at design within cinema. I have perviously watched this film but doing this task has given me the opportunity to look further into the atmosphere and the world that Ridley Scott built around the film. The industrialised futuristic world that he built is the basis for this film which the character explores fuelling the narrative. 

Another aspect of the film I find interesting is the posters than advertise the film. This is something I have always taken an interest in therefore even fuelling some project I have completed in the past. This poster is one of my favourite film posters due to the traditional illustration that has been used. The artist John Alvin designed this poster and has also designed posters for films such as, E.T, The Lion King, Aladdin etc. However the design for the Bladerunner poster is the one I find most interesting due to the layering of the characters, scenery and the background. As well as the layering I also think the colour palette that is used shows the darker tones of the film which Ridley Scott likes to explore in his Science Fiction films.

As well as delving into the Science side of Ridley Scotts films I looked at a few more iconic films; films such as Gladiator, Hannibal and American Gangsta. Even watching these films to was clear than Ridley Scott pays attention to detail when directing his films. However I think his most successful films are when he has no limits to how far his imagination can spread so the Science-fiction genre is where his film directing shines the most.

Doing this task has helped me to look further into films and start to look at the compositions and the way in which shots are filmed. Design within film is something I have always taken an interest in within this year I want to explore the different methods and ways I can try to develop this interest while exploring new areas. 

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Final Evaluation

Throughout this final major project I have explored a context that relates to my own interests and gives me the opportunity to delve into a specialism that I have always wanted to expand my knowledge on. The overarching brief was named ‘Under the Influence’ which was set to us for an opportunity to explore the world around us and how it influences us. My theme through this project was to look at science-fiction films in detail within the 1980’s time period; giving myself a task of updating these films in a poster format. The 1980’s decade was a revolutionary time for science-fiction films due to the amount of developments in science in the recent years. From the atom bomb to the moon landing; these movies gave the audience a fictional insight as to what the near future could look like.

Within this project I have explored different ways of aiming my work at a specific audience and trying to create recognition for an audience who may not have seen them. The specialism I chose to focus on within this project was print due to its significance in the poster design industry. I have explored various aspects of poster design that need to be considered; areas such as composition, type, layering. Print gave me the opportunity to experiment with these areas in a traditional way that can be developed in a digital format. Digital editing was another specialism I have used within my developments as I could combine traditional and digital ways of working to get the best qualities from both.

The purpose of my project was to try and create recognition for the films I have based my work on for a specific audience. I used various questions to try and improve my critical thinking; this helped me to start to question my own developments. One of the questions I used quite a lot was ‘Who is my audience?’ and ‘Does it suit their needs?’. Audience has played a huge part in my project as this gives me some grounds and a base to create my work on; having these questions to refer back to when creating my developments has helped me to critically think about my work.

My theme explores various cultural themes as films are a big part of our culture in todays age. I had to think about how I would make my posters culturally appealing to the older audiences who are big fans of the films while trying to attract new audiences. Another social theme I had to think about is how a poster is consumed and if the poster is relevant in todays society; and if not how would I make my developments different from the rest. I ran into the problem of finding inspiration and purpose of my project when I first begun; I knew the subject area I was going to base my project around but finding areas to research and who I was going to be creating these developments for was something I had to think about.

My research began with with specific designers that I have found interesting and trying to pick out the different techniques they have used; then starting to think about the various ways I could take it further into my own concept. I used books that were focused on poster within my concept area; I mostly used these as visual research and trying to draw comparisons from todays age posters to in the 1980’s time era. One of the books I have used called ‘Film Posters of the 80s’ helped me to get some visual referencing of the designs in the time period I focused my project around. I explored primary research of the world around me in the ‘Out here, in the field’ workshop; this gave me some inspiration to start looking at silhouettes and layering my developments. The research I used the internet for was mostly based around designers; using designers to help me fuel my own developments was useful because it gave me some ideas and grounds to start building a concept on.

I think my most inspirational research was looking at the science fiction era and the context around that time period; this infused my knowledge on the historical events and the cultural events that happened around this time to influence the subject area I aimed to delve into.The 1980’s era was a revolutionary time for developments; this time had a massive boost in science due to the atom bomb and the moon landing a few years before. This also created anxiety that is called ‘Future Shock’ where the general public fear not knowing where the future is headed. I have researched this in my science-fiction based post and this was useful when thinking of conceptual information to consider when developing my experiments. Another piece of research that has helped me is looking at where the ‘Poster’ is now in todays age; starting to question the successful of the poster in todays society has fuelled my idea generating on different ways to make my own posters unique.

Throughout my developments I have tried to base my outcomes around my research; taking inspiration and then taking it further. I used my silhouette research to develop some prints but instead of using one solid colour I tried to layer up colours, therefore taking it further than just creating a simple response. Early on in the project I took a lot of visual inspiration from the designer Olly Moss but later on I realised I wanted to take the style of his work further so I decided to look at more conceptual and cultural topics as posters are created for an audience.

When presenting research I used a range of methods; the most prominent being my blog. Using my blog I was able to clearly present research and start to create experiments from this research. Another way of presenting research I used was in my sketchbook, using my sketchbook gave me the opportunity to lay out my visual research and to experiment with my visual responses. Within this project my research has gotten more in-depth as time has gone on. At the start of the project I was mostly looking at designers and the visuals within their work but now I found looking more at concepts, movements and events has helped me to give my work even more context.

When developing in this project I tried to focus on a specialism but also to incorporate the specialism with other processes. My specialism in this project was based around print based processes but I also tried to use some analogue cut out experiments then use the traditional methods with more digital based processes. My ideas developed a lot through the FMP; I didn't predict I would be exploring more simplified designs at the start and looking at symbolism. I think something that helped to fuel this development was my research into what makes a successful poster and how effective the poster is in todays society.

My specialism of print in my project is quite significant when exploring poster design; I think choosing print to be my main way of working was useful because I could edit these traditional prints in a digital way. Having this connection between traditional and digital ways of working allows me to keep the good qualities in my developments. It also adds more depth to the way I work; however I think I could've explored a bit of animation in my developments as this would've been an interesting way of modernising the poster design theme.

After completing my context and research I decided to dedicate 5 weeks to creating outcomes and developments. At first I wasn't sure on what my developments would be based around, however I soon was able to establish an audience and a purpose for my developments. Having this purpose clearly set out gave me some parameters to work around which was useful when thinking about different ways to take my developments further. So I think I used my time of developing quite well as I was able to create a broad range of experiments in my specialism but still have the connections to other ways of working.

I feel my creative decisions in this project were strong towards the end of the project. At the start of the project my decisions could've been a lot more ambitious but towards the end of the project I think I found the area I wanted to truly explore; establishing a purpose and an audience helped me massively. Choosing to create my own screen was good for me because it has developed my own knowledge on print based processes and I hope to use the skills I have learnt in this project when going onto university.

Throughout this project I feel I have developed my knowledge on a few technical processes. One process being screen printing; I haven't touched upon screen print before but being able to explore this process has allowed me to create exciting prints. I was able to create my own screen which was an interesting and useful process for me to learn when exploring the themes of poster design. Another area I think I have refined is my animation skills in one experiment; I don't normally touch upon animation as its not one of my strong areas but it worked well with the context of my development. When creating the animation I had to look into different ways for it to work so testing out all these various ways of working has expanded my knowledge on the area more. I looked more into illustrator in this project because this is a program I want to become familiar with; it has less limitations and having this knowledge will help me when moving onto further education. Using illustrator has giving me the tools to make my traditional prints more exciting and refined so this program was a significant way of creating my experiments.

In this project I wanted to communicate that these classic 1980’s science fiction films can be advertised in a modern way that attracts the old audiences and new audiences. My work was partially successful because I found a way to modernise my experiments for a new audience to watch these films; however I think I could’ve looked more into animation to take the theme of poster design further. The decisions of materials were strong as a print is a big way of working when exploring poster design. Screen print was especially strong for me because I could create my own digital screen which I would then make and get the traditional qualities on an interesting design.  

At the start of the experimenting I didn’t have a plan when creating my developments but as I started to establish more of a context and started to think more about audience, this fuelled my work to have interesting and exciting designs that suite an audience. Throughout each development I had a reason behind it and then I tried to develop it further if it was a successful experiment. The most successful aspects of my outcomes are the visual qualities that have been created through the rough and sketchy way of printing and how my outcomes can be seen as a collection. Another aspect I think is successful in my outcomes are the layering with each poster; I tried to bring out these hidden textures behind the modern poster as if the old classic film is being uncovered.

Peer and tutor discussion has helped me massively in this project as having people question the effectiveness of my poster gives me information that I can apply to the work to make it better. With a topic area of poster design the audience has to be a massive area which needs to be considered so having this constant feedback and ideas from my peers was really useful to creating the most exciting work possible. In my final outcomes, tutor discussion gave me the information I needed to push the aspect of making my final outcomes a collection further. I added the director of the film and the date it was made which helped the successfulness of my final outcomes massively. An aspect I would've completed differently in my project would be to work more in my sketchbook and with analogue processes. Having these small analogue processes could've helped me to plan out other developments. Something else I would've changed would be to explore more into animation because this adds more depth when wanting to explore exciting ways of modernising a poster.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Digital Developments for my Final Series

Moving on from my screen print development, I created successful prints but I still think they need some digital qualities that I can achieve when using digital programs to edit imagery. I have decided to use the more torn prints as a template as I can experiment more with both audiences in my project theme. 

The first aspect I wanted to experiment with is to add more textures to the prints. I think adding relevant textures that relate to the films that they are based on will give the audience more of an idea as to what the film is about; this will apply to the newer audiences. Its also a good way to layer these designs and give them bases to work around. For each design I wanted to incorporate a texture that stems from the themes within the films they are based on.

This was my first attempt at trying to add some relevant texture to the piece. I also went ahead and made the whole design monochrome by lowering the hue in the colour options . The textures work well because it adds to the worn and torn theme I was hoping to convey in these posters. The design almost looks like an old billboard and the layers of the posters are coming off. 

To get the texture I tried to use a rusty metal to link back with the iconic delorean and to show the rust of the metal on the car. This works well with the existing textures on the print and adding textures that give more context is definitely something I will continue to do in my other designs. 

For the terminator print I wanted something to show in the background where there was white. I thought about adding a texture as I have done with the back to the future print. A more mechanical or machine texture would work well to show the link back to the film and the main aspect of being man vs machine. I looked at some machinery textures online but none of them seemed to fit my print; with this I did find an image on the internet but instead of using the straight image I took it into illustrator; selected image trace and changed the style to greyscale which then converted the image to a more darker mechanical texture that fitted in the background of my design. 

This was the outcome of using this texture I have edited from illustrator; I think the texture works well with the rest of the print and almost has a sense of the texture trying to tear down the print to get out. However, it could show the modern and minimalist design slowly coming down to the more detailed and traditional designs in the background.

For the Robocop poster I conducted the same process but with wire instead of a machinery texture.

I think this works well because it almost shows a maze in the background often original design. This modern and simplistic design comes down to reveal a more complex world behind. Exploring these various textures in each print has allowed me to cater to both the old and new audiences as I have some of the modern iconic designs but the old and traditional designs are coming through the page.

After experimenting with different ways of adding texture I wanted to try and make these designs work more as a collection so this meant changing some of them visuals in each poster and making aspects similar. To do this I went into my editing software and continued the backdrop from the ‘Robocop’ poster into the other 2 designs because this has a rough quality to it and makes the text come off the page. I also wanted to add the lines above and below the text because it breaks up the composition and doesn't leave the type sitting in blank space. The final idea I was given feedback on to make them more of a collection was from tutor feedback. The feedback gave me the idea of adding the director and date of the film so they act as a collectible for old fans of the film to collect and collate the 3 posters as one series.

To add these edits into my designs I took them into photoshop; photoshop has been a useful tool in this project of allowing me to refine my work and manipulate my prints into the designs I want.

‘Back to the future’ print 

‘The Terminator’ Print

‘Robocop’ Print 

I was extremely pleased with my final outcomes because of how hey are similar and seen as a collection. I was glad I chose to use a torn effect to show the themes of the film behind the poster. I chose to do this to cater to the new audiences who will not know about these films but also to attract the nostalgic audiences who will be happy so see their classic themes coming from behind the foreground design. I think this is also successful because I want to revive these films and the poster is as if the background is the resurrection.

I also think choosing to to produce these posters are a series was successful as it adds some audience interaction for them to collect all 3 posters in the series. It also intrigues the viewer to take a closer look at the posters. I chose to add the backdrop to the text because I wanted it to appear as if the text is coming off the wall and this works well due to the other monotone colours in the composition.

Taking these designs into digital from print was a good idea as it allowed me to get some imagery and qualities I wouldn't have been able to do in traditional processes. Choosing to go with the more worn and torn look works well as it looks similar to an old poster that has been plastered in a wall; showing that these films still have their old qualities and they should be appreciated. 

I hoped to differiate my posters from the film posters than come out in todays age and I think I have managed to complete this in some aspects. I wanted to explore the themes of iconography in my designs due to its aesthetically pleasing success but I didn't want to carry on the clean and linear look. The rougher look shows the time these films have been through and that even when they are old they can still hold their success in todays film age. 

Something I want to do now after printing these off is adding the spray paint effect on the Robocop visor as I think it would keep the consistency from the Terminator poster going. An aspect I would do different next time would be to maybe experiment with augmented reality and using the HP reveal app to add an animation to the poster; another way to modernise and make these designs more unique. 

After printing them off it was time to add the print them off and add the spray paint to the Robocop visor; then after this has been dried to put them into frames for the exhibition. 

This was there result of putting my final pieces into frames in the exhibition. I am extremely pleased with the results of my final pieces. The frames enhance the collectors aspect to them which increases the audience interaction; audience and interaction is a massive part of my project so I think my final pieces have concluded this exploration successfully. 

Creating my final pieces has been a success for me because I was able to explore a process that I haven't explored before and then develop it in my own process that I feel comfortable with but also trying new programs such as illustrator. Also having peer reviews and tutor feedback helped me to get some ideas as to areas to expand upon to make my posters more successful.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Creating my Final Series Screens

Now having some ideas mapped out for what I want to create for my final series I can begin to start developing the different elements that will feed into the posters. Through my success of screen print in this project I feel it would only be wise for my to create my own screen as I haven't explored this process before and it gives a more clean edge to your screen and also allowing you to push the potentials of printing. I have never created my own screen before so this was a new experience for me. 

For my designs I had to come up with 3 films and then start to think of designs that would be iconic for these films. I decided I wanted to choose out the films because creating posters for films I find interesting will inspire me to create the most exciting outcome possible. I decided on the films ‘The Terminator’, ‘Robocop’ and ‘Back to the future’. I feel it was only fair for me to have one of the films to explore be the films I have developed my experiments on. Having all these different experiments leading up to the final piece will show how far my ideas have come within this project.

Looking at the original posters I wanted my peers to be the voice for what I should have as the object or the main focus in the design. I asked the question of ‘What is the most iconic aspects of these films to you?’ and they all came up with different ideas. 

Back to the Future answers: Delorean, Flux capacitor, Marty Mcfly, Iconic Clothes, Guitar

Through these answers there was one that stuck out to me the most due to its relevancy in the film but not being recognised enough. The flux capacitor is a prominent aspect of this film that plays a huge role but isn't focused on enough. I started to look at the shape of the flux capacitor and decided I wanted to look at a more logo themed design within the poster of the flux capacitor. As logos and symbols are such a focused thing in todays society I thought it would be a successful way for the audience to add a branded stamp to one poster of the series.

The next film I asked my peers about was ‘The Terminator’. The answers were quite straight forward in this one as people chose to recognise the same feature in the poster. 

Terminator answers: Arnold, Gun, Glasses and eye

I think the most interesting answer here was the the glasses and red eye. These were iconic glasses to Arnold as the terminator and adding the red eye will show that the glasses are on the face of a terminator. 

Robocop answers: Helment, Armour, Car, Visor

The answer that made me think was the visor; I started to think about how I could explore simple lines and more into iconography as I will do in the back to the future design. 

Now having my ideas set out and some small designs it was time to create my digital page that I would render into a screen. I wanted to create minimalist screen templates that I could experiment with texture and the wear and tear effect. At the start of this project I talked about how I have wanted to make may developments in a collection and something my audience can collect.

When creating a picture for a screen you want to print, the areas marked out black are the areas that the emulsion will be eliminated on the screen therefore creating a passage for the ink to pass through onto the page. The black had to be the darkest it could be because when creating the screen the black has to attract the UV light that eliminates that part of the page.

After having this printed out I had to apply emulsion to the plain screen; once this is dry it blocks out paint. Applying the emulsion to the blank screen was an easy process of running the emulsion up the screen and then waiting for it to dry for 30 minutes

Once the emulsion is dried it was time to lay my screen with the layer of emulsion into a mechanism that keeps the screen and my design of my print together. To keep the paper and the screen together, the machine vacuum packs the area so the screen doesn't have room to fall. This also helps the screen when rotating the machine around so I could shine the UV light onto the screen and eliminating the black in the screen.

Now the screen will begin to get rid of the emulsion within the black areas and apply the emulsion to the white areas. The black areas will have no emulsion causing for the paint to be able to travel through on the screen. Then leave this screen for 10 minutes, take it out and hose the emulsion off of the black areas of the screen and then wait for it to dry. Once it is dry then it is usable to print with.

As I was going to use this screen again it was important for my to learn how to clean it. This was an in-depth process that has stages to it. First you have to apply a chemical wash to the screen and scrub thoroughly so the emulsion chemically breaks down. Once you think you have scrubbed down the screen enough for the molecules to break down in the emulsion then use the hose to wash over with. For the final stage I had to jet wash the emulsion away from the screen; using the jet wash caused for a powerful impact that the particles in the emulsion that have been broken down would just come off easily. 

This was a simple process that I had to learn if I was going to use my own screen again to be able to print multiple designs for my final series.

Now having the street set up it was time to start printing my outcomes; I wanted to carry on this worn and torn theme in my prints so I tried to experiment with the pressure applied to the squeegee when printing. Now getting to grasps with the process of print I felt I could truly utilise my skills to try and experiment with various ways of creating designs. 

I then went back and created the designs for my other screens; this was a long process due to the cleaning and making of the screens but worth the outcomes because I got a range of different, visually exciting pieces that I will then take into a digital format to refine and manipulate.

‘Back to the future prints’

‘Robocop prints’ 

‘Terminator prints’

These prints were only a selection of the range of prints I completed; these are the prints I feel are the strongest prints I produced. I was extremely happy with these simple and torn prints because they show a simple significance within the films that I wanted to put across to the viewer. I was successful in trying to get a more torn and attacked effect to the posters. It makes the design more visually engaging and exciting rather than too simple. 

The most successful design for me is the terminator design; originally I didn't have red in the print but I had an idea from a peer to spray paint his eye so I could get the particle effect that spreads and fades out implying some light is coming from the eye. This was a successful idea that I think I might try and see if I can incorporate it into my other prints.

One aspect of the prints I didn't feel went so well was the colour choices in some of my back to the future prints. I tried various colours to see if I could get a more futuristic feel but I think the most successful prints are the designs that stick to a monochrome colour palette. I want to now take these designs into digital to refine them and then present them as my final series for the project.

These posters are successful for my audience because the torn theme looks as if the poster is old and is ageing with the people who grew up with these films. It has a personal level of connection with the older audiences. As well as this, I think the more simpler designs really show that these posters want to evolve and bring in new audiences that would appreciate these films. 

What Next? Leading on from this session I now want to look at various ways I could digitally refine these prints and design them more into the final posters I want. 

[olliesmithgraphics]

Delorean Screen Print Development

Moving on from my last development and my artist research, I wanted to experiment more with screen print as I think this has been quite successful in this project but I also want to create another experiment based on the iconic look of the delorean car from the film ‘Back to the future’. My block print designs on the same subject area weren't as successful as I wanted to gather a range print processes and to create an outcome that would coincide with the letter press I completed.

From my last prints and linking back to my prints from my primary sketches, I wanted to test out the torn and worn look to my posters. I think having this quality I could experiment with some interesting designs when taking the test into digital. `The screen prints from my primary research weren't the type of print I was going for but now looking back I think this may be the path I take when looking into my final series.

To start off this development I created a stencil for my print; learning from my mistakes in the block print development I decided to create a simple shaped stencil but to cut some shapes into the stencil to define some of the features of the delorean. This stencil was simple to do as I have created stencils before, however this one was more detailed so it made the stencil more delicate to utilise in the screen which meant I had to be careful. 

Now having my stencil it was time to pick out some acrylic ink to use on my screen. I thought that the blue has been quite successful in my other prints so I wanted to carry on this colour throughout. Now having my blue colour I followed the same process of laying out the ink on the screen and using the squeegee to spread the ink through the screen onto my page.

As I wanted to try and carry on the worn and torn theme I tried to create these rough textures by being loose with the print. I didn't put as much pressure on the screen which left some paint off of the screen and off the page. This process was successful in creating a worn print. I was able to get a few outcomes that looked rough but I also tested out some more clean prints to see what they would turn out like. 

There were my two favourite outcomes from this workshop; they have a resemblance to some of the torn posters I was able to see on the street art tour in London. 

I think heading in this more worn way of working with print will differentiate my own prints from todays posters designs that get released. Having this more rough feel will allow me to explore more layers as I can layer imagery underneath the torn areas. This will relate back to my audience because I think I could try and use the themes of worn and turn and reviving these films together. I want to have a contrast in the visual qualities of my final series that appeals to the new, younger audiences and the more old and diehard fans of the film.

This was a useful development for me because I was able to following a different visual quality that has worked and I think I could take further within my context. I want to move away from the more clean and slick aspects of poster design to experiment more with appealing to both audiences and playing with this idea of these torn movies coming back into the light.

An aspect that was successful in this workshop is the design of my print; I think this turned out successfully because I was able to capture the iconic shape of the back of the delorean. However, as my context is based a lot around audience I want to ask my peers about the 3 films I explore in my final series. Having this peer response to fuel my idea generating will give them more of a base to develop around.

What Next? Moving on from this session I want to create some ideas for my final series and start to think about the subject areas of them. I also want to ask my peers what science-fiction films were the most successful in this time period so I can try to revive these films within my own posters.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Michal Krasnopolski

Following on from my block print developments I wanted to look more into simplistic shape design. A designer I found called Michal Kransnopolski has created various designs for iconic films that explores simple shape design to give context of the film. 

Kransnopolski is an illustrator and graphic designer who works in Warsaw, Poland. He graduated from Strzeminski Academy of Fine Arts based in Lodz. He has been working in advertising since 2002 and has won multiple polish industry awards.

I am personally a big fan of his work due to its simplicity and being able to portray a film with simple designs; even when the design is one shape. I think being able to present a film with minimalist shape design is a good way to get the audience thinking and keeping this sense of audience interaction. Having audience interaction is a key element when designing a poster because it makes the viewer think and will linger in their mind; remembering the design.

In a culturally fuelled age with film, seeing something unique to advertise these films is a unique aspect when developing experiments. Being able to create posters that differentiate from the rest in the industry is a unique skill to have. I have tried to explore various ways the poster is dead and different ways to make the poster stand out from the others.

Superman film Poster 

This is my favourite design that he ha created because of the simplicity of the piece; this is the simplicity that I think is successful and keeps his designs unique. Other poster designs have explored silhouette designs and minimal designs but haven't gone as far as to only use one shape to advertise the film. The red line shows movement because of the faded out edge to it; the faded edge shows that there is an object on one end and is fading away. The movement shown is fast due to the red; however the red is also showing supermans cape flying through the sky.

Another successful aspect of this design that I want to talk about is the colour palette used. The colours are suitable for the film that the poster is based around as it shows the iconic colours of the superman suit. Another visual quality that I think is successful is the size of the text; this is important because the text doesn't take focus off the main design. The type focuses most on the film title, showing the main aspect the audience should read is the title. This simplistic and straight to the point title coincides with the minimalist design of the faded streak.

I think this designers work in these recent times has been successful because of the emphasis on logos and simple shapes used. In this day and age logos are such a significant thing that people recognise and go to look for in a poster. This is something I want to include in my final designs; having this sense of brand and similarities within the series gives the viewer something to spot out when looking at the whole set. Another thing I want to look at is creating a series that includes some identical stamp on each design that brings all of the series together; this may one something for the viewer to collect.

I have already explored trying to create a poster design by only using shape but it wasn't as successful as I wanted. 

My design didn't have movement or tone within the shape to try and show the viewer some hints as to what it is; its just simple shape that vaguely show an object but I wanted more of a sense of recognition when working with iconography. 

This research has been useful because it has allowed me to look at an artist I find exciting and to establish some visual qualities which I can respond to. I have also tried to relate his work back to cultural themes and how in todays society we recognise logos as there as so many companies in the world we need something to recognise them by. Another way this research has been useful for me is I’ve made a connection to my own work and established why my design doesn't work as successful as Krasnopolskis.

What Next? Leading on from this workshop I want to create another simplistic design of the delorean but try to capture the defining features in the car so the viewer can recognise the design easier. I will also need to start thinking about the different processes I could complete for my final series.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Mid Project Review

In this post I’m going to talk about where I am now in the project by conducting a mid project review. This will allow me to see where I’m at now and how far I have got to go to successfully explore my context fully. Now I'm starting to think of ideas for creating my final developments I want to look back at my project so far and think of the various ways my context, research, developments have lead to these final experiments. 

I have said from the start of the project I want to focus on poster design and eventually create my final outcomes based around this subject area but taking it further through my processes. Throughout my project I have focused around audience and trying to work to a specific way to try and meet the needs of the audience. I established my audience of older big fans of the films I will be exploring so I have had to include iconic aspects of the films they would recognise. I have also tried to cater to the new audiences as I want to intrigue these viewers with minimalist and modern design. 

Going back to the original overarching brief, my theme fits the context because I am under the influence of the audience. I’m working to please this audiences needs; I have achieved this by setting out different parameters to work towards that I use when developing different experiments. My own concept is about how I can revive these films for a more updated audience but also tap into the older audiences sense of nostalgia to attract them to want to rewatch these films. 

Throughout this project I have researched a few designers that have influenced my work; as well as designers I have research various conceptual subjects because they have a broader range of knowledge that I can apply to my own developments. A prominent designer in my research was Olly Moss; this designers fuelled my ideas for developments at the start of the project but as my project is evolving the style of my work has moved away from the layered, clean look. 

Looking at audience and more cultural research has helped me to get ideas on what my developments should be focused around. Having this guideline to work towards is useful because it gets my critical thinking going and I start asking myself if the poster successful. When asking myself if it is successful, I start to change visual elements to suit the viewers needs. 

When creating my final outcome I will think about what will make the poster unique and be different from other standard poster designs. This is something I have questioned throughout this project due to posters being such a big industry; having knowledge on different ways to differentiate my posters from others in the industry will help me to create outcomes that are visually engaging and are aimed at my specified audience. 

When developing my final outcome I hope to use my Gestalt theory research to make a visually exciting series of posters that explores some of the ideas within my gestalt theory research. The themes research will give me the opportunity to use some of these ideas that will maybe make the viewer think about the work and look more into it. 

To achieve my final grade in this project I need to look more at cultural and social ideas in more recent times. Having this recent knowledge on the topic will give me some idea as to what is successful in todays age and try to evolve this further. Gaining some knowledge on cultural and social themes will give me somme parameters to use when creating a design; the parameters will allow me to create a design that people will take an interest in and find appealing.

I also think to achieve my final grade I need to look at more analogue processes in my sketchbook as it will give me a broader range of developments that I can review and start idea generating for my final piece.

My biggest concern when making work is my own time management; planning out my time has never been a strong point of mine so I will need to make a planner as it allow me to plan out different processes I need to complete for my final outcome. Something else that may impair this is my own visual inspiration; I need to keep looking at posters or just visual research in general to keep my inspiration going which will help me to create an exciting outcome. Having a range of visual research can give me inspiration for factors which I may want to include in my own developments and even take further with my ideas.

[olliesmithgraphics]

The history of the ‘Poster’ and Where is it now?

In todays society posters are seen everywhere, from building walls to street corners. They are so prominent in todays culture that trying to make a successful poster design that stands out from the rest is a difficult task to do. It seems in todays age there are so many ways a poster is presented; this being through a advertisement billboard or a protesters sign that has a poster on it. 

I want to first start off by looking at the origins of the poster then comparing to where they are today. The poster was one of the most successful and earliest forms for advertising and trying to present visual communication in the early 19th century. The poster was originally meant to be read from a distance so this encouraged the development of typography as the text needed to be readable. Posters in that age were mostly made from wood and then quickly spread round the world becoming the most prominent aspect of the graphic design trade.  

‘Moulin Rouge: La Goulle’ (Toulouse-Lautre- 1891)

Posters were normally used to promote different political parties, to recruit people, advertise products and to just generally spread an idea for the public. The artists who worked in the communicating media through graphic design trade saw poster design as the most successful way of communicating an idea. Posters are still relevant in todays society that as the internet has given us another platform to create our own designs on. 

My next question to ask myself to get my critical thinking going is ‘is the poster dead?’. I’m asking myself this question because posters have been such a huge thing in history and they're such a popular way of communicating a message in graphic design that people don't appreciate a poster for what it is. Posters in todays society are plastered around billboards, walls, various streets that people just see them as a standard way of advertising which means they get ignored more than they get acknowledged. To create a successful poster that stands out in todays age, you need to design something unique and not like any other poster. This is something I hope to explore in my own developments. I want to be able to differentiate myself from the standard poster through technique and ideas. 

One of the most recognised posters in todays society was created by a designer called Milton Glaser. He created one of the most simple yet recognisable designs that is used in various cultural ways of advertisement.

‘I heart New York’ (Milton Glaser)

This design has been used in so many different ways that it is one of the most recognisable example of typography to date. This design has been used on a lot of clothing items and accessories that people have bought and used. Having your design on accessories and clothing means more people will see this design. 

The design is successful because of the minimalist composition and the cultural references used. In stead of saying ‘I love N Y’ Glaser decided to use a heart to present the love aspect which is used in social media a lot. Therefore showing that when thinking more about the audience and the cultural references your design will be more successful and easier for people to relate to. 

Another reason why this design is so successful is through the aesthetically pleasing composition. The use of lettering instead of words makes it more of a stamp instead of a message so the viewer is more inclined to recognise it. The type is laid out in an aesthetically pleasing way because of the even spaces between each letter and how the font of the text matches the style of the heart in the image.

Something that has had a massive effect on poster design is the use of the internet and various digital ways of presenting work. Even small designs on an internet page acting as an advertisement could be considered a poster due to it having the same purpose of trying to communicate something. Due to there being so many designs in the world I need to think of different ways of making my own designs unique. I want to continue to explore the use of traditional and digital processes together as I think in the past few developments this has been my strong point. 

Social media has made the poster design industry stronger yet also making it harder to get your own poster recognised as something special. Social media allows the communicate of the public to photograph and spread around various posters which makes it easier for people designs to get recognised. However, due to there being so many posters being communicate around in social media, this makes it harder for someones design to be recognised as a unique design that is something different.

To conclude my question of ‘is the poster dead?’ I think that the poster has evolved instead of dying. The poster used to be something that was recognised and acknowledged which people would read and take in. The poster is now so popular that people will ignore the simple designs that people use; so creating a unique poster means that it has to evolve into something taken further to truly be recognised as a good or successful poster. I want to explore different ways I can take the poster further using this mentality of my poster not being successful unless it's unique. This critical thinking will get me to start thinking about various ways I can take my processes further and to make them unique. This research has been useful for me for establishing some parameters and ideas I want to take into account when creating my developments. 

What Next? I want to now use this research to start making me think about my final series and what I will produce. I want to start thinking about the different mediums that have been successful in my developments and the various ways I can combine processes to get the most out of the unique qualities.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Delorean Block Print Development

Once I created my letter press type designs I wanted to look more into block print and to see if the visual qualities are as successful as a screen printed design. I wanted to carry on the theme of capturing iconic aspects of films while not looking at characters; continuing with the delorean theme because it is such a significant part of the film in ‘Back to the Future’

Using block print will give me some visual qualities I couldn't get with a screen print because the ink is oil based and you can get some rough and grainy textures. I chose to go with a simple design which means making my stencil out of grey board; I used grey board because it doesn't stick to the paper when printed so I could use the stencils again. 

I want to go with a design that is purely made from simple shapes to continue this theme of minimalism but I also needed it to be recognisable. Following this minimalist shape will allow me to start to think about my final series I want to complete. 

When having my grey board cut out I rolled out the black oiled based paint onto the grey board with a roller and applied this to the paper. As with the letter press I used the block printer to apply the pressure to the print so the ink would transfer onto the page. One problem I ran into when creating this print is that I wasn't neat enough so there are a few marks on the page but I can edit them digitally to get rid of them.

I created a couple sets of designs as I don't think they were as successful as I wanted. I wanted the initial prints to show the shape of the front of the delorean but I don't think this is a shown clearly enough. I think the textures I have achieved in these prints were successful but I don't want to carry on using this process of working when looking at completing my final series.

One aspect of the design I don't think was successful was the way I created the stencils doesn't work with the flat composition. If I were to make the different shapes different tones I could show the illusion of it being a 3D front view. 

Now having the prints I wanted to take them into a digital format to try and clean them up and fix some of the shape compositions. 

I was able to clean up the rough areas around the print and made the shapes a bit more even which improves the quality of the work. I tried to keep the printed textures in the shapes because this quality is unique to print work and I think this is something I want to carry on throughout my developments. 

Once I cleaned up the design I wanted to try and test out what my letter press type would look like in this composition. Letter press and block print are quite similar processes so I think they would work together. 

This was the design I came up with from my prints; I used the letter press from my previous experiments to try and come up with a simple design. I think using the text in the design makes it more successful but I still think the design might be too simple. I don't think block printing is as successful of a process and I want to now develop more in screen print and start to think about what design I would like to produce for my final piece.

Something I would do different if I were to complete this workshop again would be to create a different design as this design was a bit ambitious for the viewer to recognise it just from the shape. I would also complete the print in a different print method instead of block print as I think I'm not as successful with it; also with block print you have more limitations rather than screen print.

This edited print reminds me of a Saul Bass design through the monochrome colour palette and the hard, black textured design. This piece has a simple layer which reminds of me of a Saul Bass design, however I don't think exploring block print again will be useful for me because of the themes I want to explore. 

What Next? Moving on from this workshop I want to try and create another delorean design but in screen print instead as I could create a slightly more complex design for the audience to recognise. I also want to look at the history of the poster and where it is now to start questioning my own designs when coming up with ideas for my final series. 

[olliesmithgraphics]

‘Film Posters of the 80s’ Book Research

To continue my research into film posters from the 80s I found a book in the library that explores the most successful posters of the 1980′s time era; the time period I have been basing my developments on. Using a book to research these and have these visual references has a more reliable feel rather than getting my information off the internet. 

The book goes through all the successful film posters of the 1980s and give simple details. I want to use this book as a visual research piece to try and create a comparison to todays film posters. I also want to look at what made these posters successful and what qualities I can use or explore in my developments. 

The first poster that I think is useful for me to look at is the film poster for ‘E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial’. This poster explores silhouettes which is something that is quite prominent in my theme so being able to see this done successfully in a poster from the 1980′s science fiction era is useful for me.

The poster explores a dark and moody tone but at the same time, the moon in the background creates the lightsource for the whole poster. This shot in the poster has been taken from an iconic shot in the film and I think this was a good way to show some context to the film but doesn't give too much away. This is something I want to explore in my developments through symbolism and iconography. 

Another thing that is successful in this poster is the type that is used. Type has been something I have recently explored and I still want to develop my knowledge on the subject area so being able to see this text working as successful as it is in this poster has helped me. The text in this composition doesn't take away from the initial design in the poster; which the cinematic shot is the main focus for the audience. A lot of emphasis has been put on the letters E.T. due to it being a simple title for the film and what people will remember when looking at the poster. It has been emphasised by enlarging the text which changes the viewers focal point within the composition. 

Another poster I found in this book that I found successful was the ‘The Evil Dead’ film poster. This poster uses more illustrative ways of creating the design.  This is something that was quite prominent in this time period as digitally edited posters weren't something that was around in this time. 

The reason why I think this poster is so successful is due to its minimal design of the background making the viewer focus on the imagery in the foreground. The design in the foreground is really significant because it gives context to the film but doesn't give too much away (as the E.T. poster does successfully too). The poster shows this film is a horror film but it doesn't give any characters or any of the plot away which is something some posters do achieve non intentionally. 

The other aspect that is successful of the poster is the type within the composition. The type is slightly tilted which is quite offsetting for the viewer following the horror and eerie feel. With it being offset, it is in line with the ground which is aesthetically pleasing for the viewer. I think trying to create a design that looks aesthetically pleasing the viewer is quite important because some people might notice little visual qualities being off and then ruin their view on the successfulness of the poster. 

In this book I have looked at a wide range of posters and have found that the posters in this time period are mostly shots from the films, photo produced or illustrated. This is a contrast to what I want to explore in my own developments; I want to look at more minimalist and iconic designs that don't give context to the film but intrigue the viewer enough to want to see them again. 

What Next? Leading on from this research I want to create more block prints and start to question if my designs are aesthetically pleasing for the viewer. To do this I will be asking peers if they think the poster is successful because this peer feedback will help me to question my own designs.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Digital and Letter Press  Delorean Designs

Moving on from the street art tour and my Marty Mcfly prints I wanted to test out various ways of creating type. Type within a poster is a huge part of the design and can sometimes depends on whether the design is successful or not. I have only explored ways of creating type within a poster a couple times in the past year and when exploring it, it has been an interesting aspect to explore and mostly been successful within my work. 

I wanted to explore some different ways of creating type for my film of ‘Back to the future’. I decided I would do this by creating some letterpress letters which I would then add to a design to test the successfulness of the type. I have chosen to work in letter press because I want to explore a wide range of print processes as this is an area I wish to develop throughout this project. 

When creating letterpress type I would have to use the letters provided in the print room; I wanted to find a modern yet bold text to truly emphasis the significance of the film. To create letter press prints I set rolled out some oiled based ink with a paint roller then rolled out the paint on the letters. After doing this I placed the letters on the page in the position I wanted and laid the paper out into the block print printer. When using the block printer I removed the board underneath because the letters used in the letter press were tall enough to replace the board. 

This was an easy process for me as I have explored this before but I wanted to set out some traditional lettering which I could take into a digital format to edit. One problem I ran into when creating these letter press prints was the way I was printing it; I don't think I applied enough pressure so some of the type has small areas missing. I had to replay the process a few times to get the type the way I wanted. 

The type was a successful font because it has the excitement the film includes and the boldness the film presents itself in the themes it explores. Now having this traditional text printed out I wanted to test it out on a design. In the developments before I thought about focusing on the iconic elements in the film as well as the iconic characters. For back to the future I thought the delorean car in the film is a significant element for the film. 

For the design I started by finding an image of the delorean which truly captures its shape and iconic design. 

This was the original image I chose to use for my design; it clearly shows the iconic design of the car which I could manipulate to make it suited more to my design. To first manipulate the image I changed the levels to eliminate the grey in the background and then used the rubber tool to get rid of the shadows in the image. 

After having the image of just the delorean car I wanted to make the car have a more illustrated feel to it; which relates back to the traditional text I have used in the design. To do this I took the design into illustrator and use the image trace tool to add a ‘shades of grey’ filter to it.

This was the result of turning the car into a shades of grey filter onto it. I like the sketchiness of it and I think this is the image of the iconic car I want to use. 

Now to add my text and image into one composition to try and create a design that shows the significance of the type. I wanted the image and the text to coincide with each other and to link. 

This was my final design for the poster. I decided to use lines in the design to show a sense of movement and speed; then continuing this theme in the type linking the type and imagery relevance together. The blue used is a pastel, dark blue that I think is significant in the actual film itself. 

When creating this design I had a sudden idea of trying to explore the way of designing a poster and creating a small animation within this design. Animation would be an interesting way to make my posters more successful than a standard poster. It would also be a good way of modernising my context in a small development. 

This was the final animation that I created; I don't normally delve into animation as it isn't my strong field area but I thought it would be relevant and an interesting way of questioning the successfulness of a simple poster. This animation was difficult to make as when rotate wheels in a stop motion animation, you have to create multiple layers of the wheels. I went through each frame and rotated another layer of the wheel and made the other layers hidden which then slowly created this rotating motion for the car. 

I think the outcome has turned out well because I have been able to create digital type which I then manipulated in a digital format. In this development I didn't set out to create an animation but I was glad I was able to task my design into a 4D format taking it further than a 2D design. Another problem I ran into when creating this animation was getting the wheels to seem equal; I tried to rotate them the same degree in each frame to keep the consistency and I think it has turned out successful. 

I think looking at type within a design has been successful, however I’m going to try and look at more analogue type in designs instead of print based. Having this wide range of visual information, I can truly decide what makes each one successful and include them in my next experiments.

What Next? Moving on from this development I want to look more into silhouette design but will iconic aspects of the film and not just the character. I also want to start discussing the different ways a poster is and isn't relevant in todays society while starting to think about ways I can take the poster further.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Marty Mcfly Digital Development

Following on from my prints I completed of the iconic character Marty Mcfly I wanted to experimented with different ways of digitally manipulating the prints to try and see if I could change the mood of the prints or even test around with the colours that are included in the actual film. I was extremely pleased with the prints and the textures that were present in them and I wanted to try and test different ways of enhancing these textures.

The first experiment I wanted to try was to take the prints into photoshop and try to clean the prints up and try and convert them into a more linear format. Illustrator is a program that I’m not as confident with but it is a program I want to learn more about as there are less limitations that using Photoshop. I first took my print into illustrator and tried expanding the image then using the image trace tool to get some different textures and tones on the print. 

I took the print into photoshop and selected the ‘Image Trace’ tool to see if I could simply some of the textures and tone within the print and make them more of a blocked layer. Once I had the texture in illustrator I saved it as an eps file and took it into photoshop.

Using this tool in illustrator allowed me to highlight the lighter tones within the print and has made them more defined. I find the shaded areas give the print a more 3 dimensional format and even makes the print more of an animated cartoon look. I wanted to experiment with more tools in illustrator and have this connection between traditional and digital media; extracting the qualities from both of the processes. 

I started to play around with the different options within illustrator and the various ways I could take this print when using a digital process. I still think my first experiment in illustrator was my most successful because I still keep the traditional print quality with the sketches edges but illustrator gave me the opportunity to enhance the tones; defining them more.

Now having a clear successful digitally printed silhouette I wanted to test various backgrounds on the image to bring the silhouette out from the page. Using the negative space technique with my knowledge of backlight on a traditional victorian silhouette I could create a successful base of a design for a poster.

One thing I found when experimenting with different colours, I found that the more pastel colours were successful as they weren't overwhelming against the print. I tried a few different tests with more solid colours but it took away the attention from the actual print and I want the audiences focus to be on the print instead of the background.

Looking at the different ways of digitally editing my prints has given me some experience with the programs and some ideas I may want to continue when exploring more in my developments. I also think looking at the ways of trying to keep the digital and traditional qualities has helped me to learn to keep the balance between the two aspects. This is something I will look more at when developing my knowledge and skills in the print process.

Another thing I want to look at is the audience when creating prints; I have established my audience in the post before and I think in the development I have taken their needs into account. I tried to keep the iconic feel to the character for the long time fans but also making it more modern with the silhouette aspect. 

What Next? Leading on from this workshop I want to look more into the history of the poster and where the poster is in todays society. Looking at this will give me more knowledge on the various ways to make my own developments unique. I also want to look more into typography within my posters; maybe looking at some traditional ways such as letter press or cut out.

[olliesmithgraphics]

London Street Art Tour

In this post I will be talking about my exploration around the streets of London looking and studying the wide range of the ever evolving street art. This trip gave me the opportunity to look at work that is always evolving and is aimed at the public for them to enjoy; this work breaks rules by never being finished and always changing. 

I really enjoyed looking at the ever evolving around the streets over London; the art brings the streets to life and makes the streets seem as if everyone who looks at the art is in one big community. Street art is something that is made for the public to enjoy and can even hold an important message or meaning to the art. Normally I wouldn't enjoy street art but this tour has changed my view as I was given more context as to why and who the art is made for.

‘Lenticular’ (ROA)

This trip was extremely useful for me because I was able to witness artwork that is aimed at todays audience which is something I want to explore in my own developments. Within this tour I found some new artists I haven't heard of thats work has caught my eye and will be keeping up with their progress in their street art pieces. I was able to see artists I have followed such as Banky’s street art pieces; however the street artist that stuck out to me in this tour was a Belgian artist who goes by the name ROA. 

ROA is a Belgian street artist from Ghent; his work can be seen in the form of street art all around Europe and even in the United States. He is most well-known for his work of black and white animals that are scattered around various walls, buildings etc all around the streets of cities. I was personally able to seen some of his work in the streets of London. 

I was able to see the detail that went into this large scale piece on the side of this building. ROA’s work really stands out from the rest of then street art around due to his detailed black and white style contrasting against the vibrant colours of the other street art pieces. Another aspect of this specific piece of street art is the pure scope of it and how it stands out on the side of the building as there isn't much street art that compares to the birds scale.  

Another visual quality that I find interesting is the setting around the bird; the bird looks somewhat elegant and having this gritty, grimy setting contrasts against the look of the bird. It almost emphasises the way the bird is out of place but somehow still works within the setting. The work around the area has a wide range of colour but the monochromatic bird comes out of the wall. The street art community is a competitive area as your work has to stand out from the rest to get the recognition it deserves; ROA has achieved this by changing the tone of the street art designs in one area.

ROA has always experimented with different animals in his street art and even in some exhibitions. This piece is my favourite due to being able to looking at it myself and being able to capture the scale of it and the contrast between the world around it. ROA has completed street art in places around the world and there is one in particular that is my favourite street art piece of his.

Located in San Juan

This huge mural was created for the Los Muros Hablan Festival and is located in San Juan. Iguanas are a very big problem on the island tis mural is located in; they have effected the structures, crops, economy and the ecosystem. The reason why I find this mural so interesting is, again, the scale of the piece. The scale makes the iguana seem intimidating which could show the audience that they are a big problem on the island and try to bring awareness to the public. This is something that makes the piece more significant; the context behind it and the fact that ROA might have created this to comment on something happening in the society.

The detailed iguana contrasts against the simple back setting of the building which is different to the ROA street art piece I got to witness in person. The piece I got to see was among the countless other exciting street art pieces; however this mural has its own building to takeover. This may make it more significant due to it being so noticeable which is something I think that makes this specific mural more effective. 

Within the street art trip I got to see a wide range of art around the city and I also got to see how audiences reacted to it. Something that I found interesting was the graffiti art and the context behind them. Graffiti art isn't aimed at the general public (in contrast to street art that is purely for the public); graffiti is aimed at other graffiti artists . 

This was a wall located in the streets of London which has been scattered with graffiti art. The way graffiti art works is the artist who creates the most complex or exciting design is the better graffiti artist and they stamp their graffiti identity over the city. It’s a territory competition between them which isn't supposed to be aimed at the public and this is why graffiti artists aren't worried about the readability of the text.

This street art trip was very useful for me because I was able to see how audiences consume artwork on the streets and in public. I found because there is such a wide range of street art and there is so much of it that the people within this area have become used to the ever evolving art work. The audiences who specifically come to appreciate the artwork at the ones who pick apart each design and maybe doesn't consume the art the way the artists want them to. Street artists maybe want the public to recognise the art is there but for it to become apart of their everyday life living in that area that it doesn't become so much of a significant thing. 

What Next? Now having witnessed the exciting streets of London that is covered in the constantly changing art, I want to look more into how an audience would consume your work if it were to be placed on a street wall, corner, lamp post. I also want to look more into some traditional type to feed into some of my designs because the graffiti art has inspired me to focus more on a type was of communicating a theme.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Establishing an Audience and Why?

Something that I have started to think about when creating my developments is what audience am I going to be aiming my work at and why am I doing this project for this specific audience. When creating posters it is essential in the industry to aim your designs at a specific audience. This audience could be everybody but then you have to think about the various aspects you will need to perfect for the design to appeal to everybody. Audience is something I have thought about in-depth when thinking about my own theme and the developments I aim to complete. 

Starting to look at audience theory and the different ways in which people consume the designs people create has helped me to think about the different qualities within the design that influences the viewer. Now having my theme I hope to establish my audience and the different aspects I will need to consider when aiming my designs to this specific audience. 

The reason why I have chosen this theme and aiming to create designs for 80s science-fiction posters is because I want to re-establish the interests for older audiences who were younger when these films came out. I want to use iconic designs to tap into their nostalgia and I also want to reimagine these films into a more modern and minimalist design to attract the younger audience who haven't had the chance to appreciate the films that shaped the science-fiction films to date.

My whole project is about reimagining these films and to make them relevant within todays cinema. This means look at posters that have come out in recent films and comparing them to posters that came out in the 80s. From my visual research so far I have discovered that the posters that came out in the 80s time period were very illustrative and they had limited digital ways of working which we have in todays time era. 

Blade Runner Movie Poster (John Alvin, 1982)

Posters in todays time era have a wider range of design. Some franchises that have been going on for years have kept to the older more illustrative design. A prime example being with the new Star Wars sequel movie posters. They have the same style of design that the old posters had when they first came out. Something I want to do is look at the more minimalist and clean designs but using the old films to try and get a more reimagined design for them. As said before, younger audiences in todays age might not appreciate these films for what the are and I want them to be able to have these poster designs to advertise them in a more modern way. 

My audience will be an older and younger audience; however, the older audiences will be either be people who want to relive the nostalgia of watching these films again or even people who are extreme fans of these films. This is why I want to look at collectible posters and into a way these veteran fans can collect my designs. Looking at small details within my designs that make the posters collectibles will be something to look at and an aspect I hope to include in my final designs. 

Creating this poster establishing the audience I aim to create my work for and the reason why I am doing it has given be a baseline for creating my developments. This hasn't been a long in-depth post but I have created it to cement the various reasons for my theme and the various audiences I want to aim my developments at. 

What Next? Now having a some base to work of I want to start looking at various visual ways to make my posters of 80s science-ficiton films relevant in todays society. Something I aim to look at is the relevancy of the poster itself and various ways I can differentiate my own designs from the countless of poster designs that come out in todays time period.

[olliesmithgraphics]

Marty Mcfly Silhouette Screen Print

Leading on from my silhouette research and my frame analysis I wanted to start to explore some developments within the film ‘Back to the future’. I wanted to start to look at different ways in which I can translate iconic characters to the traditional silhouette process but take it further.

‘THE GOOD. THE BAD. AND THE UGLY.’ (Alexander Dickerman)

This poster above is a prime example as to the style of work I hope to complete today but using a more traditional print based method instead of Dickerman using Adobe Illustrator in this design. Using a more traditional print based method instead of just digital will keep those textures and opaque qualities you can achieve when using print.

I decided to go back to print to explore this as I was happy with the way my primary sketched prints turned out.  I set out to explore the iconic character of Marty Mcfly in my screen prints and his iconic outfit within the film. By printing out in multiple colours and the silhouette of his iconic outfit I can start to explore the different ways of taking the traditional silhouette further. 

I started out by trying to find a clear image of the main protagonist in the film ‘Back to the future’ and then setting out to translate this image into a silhouette format that people will recognise. 

I chose this image to try and replicate as people will recognise his outfit throughout the film as for this time period he stands out compared to the rest of the people in the film therefore making him easily recognisable. Now I wanted to cut a stencil from this image to lay onto my screen; but I recognised I had to cut separate stencils if I were to represent each colour within his outfit. As well as cutting out separate stencils I would have to layer each stencil on top of each other and in an accurate manner to truly get a good representation of the protagonist. I decided to use the printed out copies of the image as the stencil as it would eliminate the process of transferring it to newsprint and make the process much more easier for me. As I was going to use different layers that would highlight various parts of the image I had to print and photo copy the image for different stencils.

Now have the stencils set out I had to complete various prints for each part of the image; then waiting for the prints to dry and print over the top. This was a long process of repetition but the outcomes were worth it in the end result.

Again I decided to use screen print as the paint used would dry the fastest therefore allowing me to layer up the various parts of the image. Now having my stencils set out it was time to find the various colours of the image. Most of the colours I found in the print room but I had to make up the brown from a dark orange and a slight tint of black in the pot. As well as having the colours mixed I decided to use more solution so it would make the colours a bit more lighter and more opaque therefore leaving some room for layering. Something else I had to consider when creating these prints was the way I positioned the paper underneath the screen because if I were to layer another colour onto top of another it had to be in the exact spot as before otherwise the print would be distorted. 

This was a simple process to complete as I have experimented with screen print in a development before this; however I wanted to refine my printing skills by improving my flooding skills so the next print comes out cleaner. Printing hasn't been a significant process for my throughout the year so completing these developments has allowed me to expand my knowledge on various printing methods. 

I didn't run into many problems when completing this method apart from the sense of repetition and it taking a longer time to complete due to the various layers. This waiting was worth the outcome because I was able to gather a range of experiments exploring a way I can take my silhouette research further than just sticking to the original cut out head portraits. 

I was extremely pleased with the various outcomes I was able to complete using my silhouette research and the experience I gained from creating screen prints from my primary sketches before. These outcomes were all clean and I think I was able to really capture the iconic silhouette of the protagonist Marty Mcfly from the 80s science-ficiton film ‘Back to the Future’. I think this is a film I want to focus experiments on due to its iconic relevance even in todays cinema. 

This was my most successful print due to its clean outcome but still keeping the texture and even some tone on the edges within the shapes. The shapes presented clearly represent the character for the audience to explore; the audience will be able to clearly recognise that the silhouette within this image is Marty Mcfly. 

I think removing the features from the character makes the design more relatable as the audience can put there face and point of view into the protagonist of the film. This is something that is quite important when exploring the various audiences in my developments as I want to attract the older audience who would like to see these films for some nostalgia. As well as the younger audience who haven't had a chance to appreciate these films that have cemented the genre in todays age. 

Something that was the most successful in these prints is the way I was able to keep the shape of the character even when I had to go back and print over. I think I have improved my screen printing skills because these prints are much more cleaner than the other prints in my developments before. Now having these prints I want to take them into a digital format and see how these will translate to a more digitally edited composition. 

An aspect I would complete differently next time would be to experiment with various background colours to see if I could change the tone of the character looking at more colour theory based themes. This is something I can development when taking these prints into digital programs. 

Altogether, this development was a massive success as I was able to create a series of prints that clearly show influence from my research and even taking it further. I was able to improve my printing skills in the experiments and create an interesting set of outcomes which I can development even further in a more digital format. Another skill I have learnt in this development was being able to translate a simple image into just shape and using these shapes to present a more minimalist format to the original image. 

What Next? Moving on from this session I now want to take these prints into a more digital format and try to explore ways in which I can maximise the tones and textures within the image. I also want to start to explore more than just characters within iconic films; looking at important objects, scenery or even symbols in the 80s science-ficiton films. As well as looking at different development ideas I think looking at audience and who exactly I want to aim these designs at will help me to establish more of a context when experimenting with various designs.