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Nottingham Big Spring Clean Project

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Evaluation

Evaluation -

1. How did my virtual Museum reflect the principles of modernist architecture of the 20th century?

In terms of form, the building I created definitely has a unique structure with a building sticking out the side, it also contains square and circular geometric shaping which was another theme I noticed when researching modernism.

As well each building is at different positions in terms of being further back from the main building which I think also helps represent modernism and exaggerate the depth.

Multiple pillars was also another feature I noticed when carrying out my research as they were needed to be put in place to help support modernist building forms. 

My stair design also represents the modernist style as they have a clear steep incline with supporting sides.

What materials did I use in Unreal to texture my building and how did this reflect the materials used in modernist architecture exteriors and interiors?

 Although my colours were chosen to more represent the different views on modernism of a certain period they also relate much to the materials used on real modernist structures. For example, most buildings that I came across during research had an overall white/grey look which is because these colours were chosen along with a flat roof when this style first began, the white also helped differentiate itself with the traditional structures of the time.

Nearly all white - 

Brown was another colour also used commonly in modernist architecture, specifically wooden textures were used which is why one of the reasons why I used the walnut texture in mine, the other reason was that it complimented the white used on the rest of the building.

How well did I translate my research and idea generation into 3D interactive ideas?

I would say that this was translated semi-successfully since I think the building I created overall does look like it could be made in the real world and not too far stretched and exaggerated so that it wouldn’t be possible. I tried to make my building interesting with modernist aspects whilst also looking believable.

How could I have improved on these points?

I could have instead of making the pillars large with only four of them I could have made them smaller in larger amounts at this would have helped the building look even more modernist aswell as looking more stylised and thought out.

I also could have chosen a more geometric textured material to the building floors and sides as this would have helped relate to the actual contents of the museum and also would have made the building stand out.

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Designing the museum in unreal

To start I created the pillars of the bridge building by using a cylinder from the basic category then duplicating to more create more symmetry and save time.

Once they were placed I used the cylinder shape again but this time made it thin and wide like how it appeared in my plan as the floor, I then placed thin cubes going around the floor leaving space for near the pillars connected since this is where people would walk into the room.

I decided to add a spiral staircase as it fit the length of the pillar but also this was thought of a possibility in my plan.

At this stage, I changed my design by not including the bridge since the museum would have been too large and since I already had five buildings all the information and images could be included in them anyway. It also didn’t relate too much with the rest of the design due to the spiral staircase which would take too long to walk up just for one level. Finally, the bridge building just didn’t look accurate or believable due to the height being too tall.

To start this new design I first changed the scale of the stage/ground to be much larger since I knew my museum would take up a lot of space and need include all of the levels I wanted to scale. I began to build my new design by using thinly scaled cubes as the walls.

However, since I created my buildings with the basic shapes and not geometry I couldn’t use the subtract feature to add doors and windows so I had to duplicate some walls and use the static mesh options to create a door.

Next, I decided to create the pillars at the front of the building by using the cylinder shapes again.

I then connected them to each other and the main buildings, I did this to act as support for the building sticking out in the middle. I feel like adding these pillars also adds a lot of interest to the building and helps it become more memorable.

When adding the floors I created as many there were in my plan making sure that there was room for the stairs to come leaving some floor in front of where the stairs ended as room for people to stand when just walking up.

Image of the final museum exterior without any texture - 

The stairs were then added by using the geometry options, I duplicated and scaled the stairs so that they fit in the museum as I planned.

Placing a wall on the side of the stairs so that people wouldn’t be able to fall off the side.

I decided to change my design here so that the room sticking out of the buildings actually connected the buildings aswell through doors, I did this since the rest of the buildings are not connect through doors leaving the people who would want to walk from one to another they would have to walk outside.

The original idea for this building was to include designs both from the buildings it was connected to. However, since the buildings were now connected by a door I decided to make this building into a cafe due to this building now being more accessible, I already had four other buildings for my other categories so I thought this would be a way to make the museum have even more value in terms of interest, it would also help come across as more realistic and believable.

I used preset chairs and tables for the cafe and included a little section where the food would be using thin cubes again.

When texturizing I made the floor of the cafe different from the rest of the building, I chose this texture as the floor since it would represent a cafe more than the standard basic floor which I used for the rest of the floors in the museum. I chose the standard floor for the rest of the museum since the blue colour represented modernism well in my opinion but also complemented the walls and the stairs texture. 

I chose a grey and walnut wood textures for the sides and roofs of the buildings as these two colours would help suit the theme of modernism, the brown colour would represent the modern and the grey being traditional, I made the buildings alternate between the colours as the more modern style was being introduced while the traditional style was being left in the past and represent the peoples’ conflicting views during the time period deciding whether to accept modernism and leave traditionalism or not.

I made the connecting pillars brown to help show that modernism was in fact accepted by the majority.

The stairs were coloured dark grey as this colour worked well with the surrounding colours being brown or light grey.

I added the signs and chose this font specifically to also relate to modernism as it doesn’t look completely thin, wavy and traditional or modern with larger bold and kerning.

Images and information were then added to each building on the walls and some on stands.

The far right building includes two levels revolving around Dada. The tallest building being three levels of modernist architecture with the top level showing the side, front, back and birdseye views of the actual building I created as I thought this would be interesting to include instead of it all being imagery from Google. The cafe building sticking out includes imagery of food. The other building the cafe is connected to contains imagery and information of Russian constructivism and the final far left building containing data and imagery of Bauhaus. 

All of the buildings in my final design have one less level than what I planned because when I tried this the room heights looked too small, I could have heightened the overall sides of the buildings again but this would have caused the issue of having too much space in the museum leaving each room with only around four images which would make each floor not as interesting.

Inside the Dada building - 

Inside the modernist architecture building - 

Inside the cafe - 

Inside Russian constructivism building -

Inside Bauhaus building -

Different views of the museum - 

Front - 

Side - 

Back - 

Birdseye - 

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Planning

What I have taken into account when drawing my sketches after the research carried out -

I replaced some straight lines with curvy ones which made the design look more interesting and modern, curvy lines also allowed me to make more unique connections between buildings. Forms were also experimented with for example I tried to create a sort of mushroom-shaped building which I thought would look iconic. The designs could have been more simple but since these are just my initial sketches they can be simplified later during development.        

side building interior - 

The interior of the side buildings didn’t look believable and I felt like they wouldn’t work in terms of levelling, so I decided to make new side buildings and then place a bridge like building going over everything else to include more room for all of the images to be placed since without it the museum would be too small.

New side building interior and views - 

Main mushroom building interior and views - 

Bridge building interior and views -

Overall building - 

I didn’t think that the middle buildings represented modernist architecture well so I changed them into cubed taller buildings actually being in contact with another.

Since the shape of the connected buildings were the same the interior shapes of the floors also looked the same. To try and make them different from each other I decided that I wanted to change the colour of the walls between the floors, I chose yellow as one of the wall colours to represent the constructivism colours.

Side views of the buildings - 

Final building design - 

I chose yellow stripes as a large part of the colours of the main building and the one next to it since this would also represent Russian constructivism.  

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Russian constructivism

Where was the Russian constructivism movement and how long did it last for?

Constructivism started in 1913 by Vladimir Tatlin and was used to promote the practice of socialism, although the idea wasn’t well known it began to pick up popularity after the Russian Revolution of 1917 which also helped people embrace the idea of change. Kazimir Malevich first used the term Construction Art was first used to describe the work of Alexander Rodchenko in 1917. Although the movement was in decline in terms of popularity in the 1920s a new movement called international constructivism developed in the 20s and continued until the mid-1950s more common in western culture.

Key figures include -

Vladimir Tatlin

Tatlin first took lessons learned from Pablo Picasso about futurism and cubism and took this information into making sculptures and architecture which were often constructed through materials such as glass, wood and metal. He is mostly known for his Monument to the Third International called Tatlin’s Tower.

Vladimir Tatlin image -

Tatlin’s Tower -

Lyubov Popova

Popova was one of the first female pioneers in Cubo-Futurism showing multiple angles of an object simultaneously which reflected motion. During her life, she created many abstract paintings which incorporated dynamics and along with theatre sets and different textiles. Her most famous work is a painting called composition created in 1913, the painting contains two characters with sharp lines whilst having curves at their joints.

Lyubov Popova image -

Composition with Figures -

El Lissitzky

Lissitzky was a Photographer, architect and designer, he created multiple pieces of propaganda to support the USSR and influenced other movements such as the Bauhaus. His most famous work was called “Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge”, the red wedge represents the Bolsheviks who are defeating their opponents of the white movement during the Russian Civil War.

El Lissitzky -

Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge -

Alexander Rodchenko

Rodchenko was a Russian painter, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. He encountered with Russian Futurists which lead him to be one of the influential founders of the Constructivist movement. Rodchenko's work was influenced by other movements such as Cubism and Malevich's Suprematist compositions which included many different geometric shapes against a plain solid colour background. Rodchenko is most well known for his advertisement poster for the house of Gosizdat which contained a woman shouting “BOOKS!” created in 1924.

Alexander Rodchenko - 

Advertisement poster - 

What are some of the main design principles this movement is credited for pioneering in the Graphic design?

One principle was to stay “truth to materials” and demonstrate the uses different materials could be put within their capacities. Another principle was to express the experiences of modern life and help portray the goals of the future. Constructivism also involved the use of Photomontages and strong typography along with following a simple, minimalistic colour palette of red, black and yellow. Circular and angled images were also common to appear shocking and help move away from more traditional art styles.

3 examples of Russian constructivism Graphic Design that reflect these design principles and why.

First example -

The first example is a poster advertisement for the movie Ninich released in 1927, this poster was created by Vladimir and Georgii Stenberg and follows many of the principles by the minimalism, angled imagery and the bold typography. The location of where the text also helps guide the readers eyes through the poster and adds a sense of direction.

second example -

This next poster was in 1929 by El Lissitzky and was used to help promote the idea of equality of the sexes under communism by the male and the female characters sharing an eye. This follows the use of bold colouring and contrasting colours with a limited colour palette which would make the piece more memorable and therefore promote the view better.

Third and final example -

This final example is by Paula Scher which was a poster created for CBS records in 1979, the poster contains multiple angled texts with an inconsistency of leading, tracking and kerning between words. The poster also contains frames to help certain words stand out and help fit the colour scheme of black, red and yellow.

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The DADA movement

Where was the DADA movement and how long did it last for?

This art movement started in February of 1916 and ended in 1924, it also took place in Switzerland with many thinking it to be a reaction to the first world war and nationalism. The movement contained a wide range of work from performance art to poetry, photography, sculpture, painting, and collages. The movement was meant to be recognised internationally so a word was chosen that no one would be able to understand. 

Some key people who were involved in this movement included Francis Picabia who was a French painter, poet and typographist who also worked in Dada and heavily influenced others to join the movement, Picabia also published the Dada journal 391 in Barcelona and America which helped spread the idea of the movement.

Francis Picabia image -

Another person who was involved in the movement was Marcel Duchamp who was a painter and sculpturist, Duchamp gave up on painting and began to redesign physical objects and called them by the term “readymades”, his probably most famous piece of art was of that of a urinal which he then placed into a museum, this heavily influenced what people classified as art, this lead to more artists using physical objects.

Marcel Duchamp image -

Hannah Hoch also played a big role in the evolution of art during the Dada movement, she was a German-born artist who was most well known for her photomontages, she would often mix different images together and resize existing features of an image to create something new and unique, this style can be replicated with programs such as Photoshop.

Hannah Hoch image -

The impact of DADA

DADA developed the movement of surrealism and experimentation which then lead to innovative designs in architecture. The movement also experimented with typography and composition which helped create more unique fonts.

Kurt Schwitters who was also associated with the DADA movement often used the word “MERZ” in his word to be associated with him to help strengthen his name as an artist and build a reputation. His designs involving “MERZ” focused heavily on the bold lettering, underlining and kerning. He also focused on constructivism through his designs which inspired others to involve this as well. A simple colour pallet was also used in his designs and even line work with different thicknesses to help direct the eye and put more attention on certain areas of the design.

What are some other design principles this movement is credited for pioneering in the Graphic design evolution?

One of these principles was that art can be made from anything, Photomontages were also common amongst the movement which allowed more experimentation. As seen in the Bauhaus movement DADA also helped develop the used of bold and solid colouring with effective contrasting colours.

3 examples of DADA Graphic Design that reflect these design principles and why.

The first design chosen was by Francis Picabia since it follows the use of solid colour with strong strokes around certain feature to help split up the image, the use of combs in the hair follow the principle of using real objects and the use of transparency used in the arms and hands implements some surrealism as well as imitating interaction and movement.

This Photomontage was made in by Hanna Hoch and uses framing around the design to help highlight the attention towards the actual character created. Hoch also used a lot of asymmetry in her work which added implements of confusion and made the viewer think more for themselves and for the time this design was created she could have been relating to the people following nationalism and that they could have a different perspective on things.

The final design chosen was by Duchamp with the urinal signed “R.Mutt” on the side along with the date “1917″, which follows the idea of using real-life objects in design. Called “fountain” the design was meant to be looked at more as a concept rather than an object.

How were some of the work produced then and how would it be differently be produced today?

For the Photomontages, they would be created from cut out pieces of paper and magazines, which would then be physically moved around until an interesting image had been created, after this they would be then glued to a surface to keep the positions in place, today, Photoshop would be used along with the marquee tool to crop certain areas of an image and then just move and change the size of them using the transform tool.

For designs like used in the “MERZ” examples, letrasets and rulers would be used to create lines with different thicknesses and accurate looking shapes. If designs like this were to be recreated today a program like Illustrator would be used with the shape and text tools along with the different amounts of accessible fonts, they would also be able to be more accurate with composition since the programs work more mathematically than humans as well as the option to have certain grid system overlays.

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Modernist architecture

What is modernist architecture?

Modernist architecture is the use of innovative ideas in the form of physical structures such as buildings, these buildings commonly are constructed by materials such as glass, steel and concrete. These designs emerged at the end of the 19th century, one of the reasons for this was that the Eiffel Tower was completed during this time (1889) which attracted many tourists and grabbed attention of other designers who intern would follow it’s style and adapt the idea even more, experimenting with many different geometric shapes for windows along with other aspects such as drastic curves in the building.

The style was also influenced by the evolution of technology with people being fine to move away from more traditional designs, new technology and further advancements lead to more experiments and creativity within architecture, the new style also leant to more simplistic and rational designs which also created new forms of expression. Although the style first emerged in the late 1800s it wasn’t until after the second world war where using this style became very popular. In the 1930s poverty rates in urban communities were unacceptable with social clearance being another problem of this decade, modernist planning was used to try and solve these problems, however, the movement couldn’t satisfy the relationships needed between families and communities which intern caused many modernist buildings to be torn down during the 1970s.

Ornamental -

Modernism -

Specific key design elements - 

Simplicity

Clean lines

Basic shapes

Different forms

Moodboard - 

Sources - 

https://study.com/academy/lesson/modern-architecture-characteristics-style.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture

https://study.com/academy/lesson/modernism-in-architecture-definition-history.html

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Tools and techniques used before the computer.

What tools and techniques were used before the computer took over for things that illustrator would be used for.

Before computers were used to help create a graphic design with its tools, logos were more difficult to create, it involved cutting out pictures and text then carefully glueing them into place along with drawing perfectly straight lines multiple times.

For something such as a poster, multiple drawings would have to be created as well as having to know the dimensions which would be drawn out using a ruler and different rapidographs. Rubber cement would be used to stick images down and hold them into place which could be lifted back up and relocated before it would set after a few hours.

For type, copies would be handwritten out with different fonts and sizes to be sent off to a typographer where it would be sent back typeset which would have to be trimmed out. If the kerning wanted to be adjusted each letter would be cut out so that it could be altered. For something to be underlined a Letraset would be used to be rubbed out.

To silhouette something rubylith would be used where it would be placed over an image and be manually trimmed where they could be experimented with, they would then be placed in different locations whilst the designer would have to imagine what they would look like in colour.

My image experiments

The images below were created by experimenting with lines using different sized circular shapes to draw around along with a ruler, for the image on the right after experimenting with the circles a mountainous landscape started to form which I thought looked creative and included depth.

Sources -

https://cheepsfromhmm.com/2015/09/02/how-did-graphic-design-work-before-computers/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=61&v=O-XrRQf7BPM

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The Bauhaus

Where was the Bauhaus and how long did the school operate for?

The Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius (1883 - 1969) and was located in Weimar, Germany where it opened in 1919, a part of the reason why it opened at this time was probably due to the first world war just ending which inspired many people such as Walter to do something they were passionate about, as well as this democrats took office in November of 1918 which also inspired change, finally the use of machines also were becoming more popular at this time in Germany which could be a way to develop the design industry.  The school closed in 1933 due to pressure from the Nazis since they characterized the Bauhaus as a front for communists and social liberals, this pressure was also the reason why The Bauhaus school was relocated to Dessau in 1925 and again to Berlin in 1932.

Walter Gropius -

Democrats taking office - 

The school also had different architect-directors starting with Walter Gropius from 1919 to 1928 then Hannes Meyer from 1928 to 1930 and then again with Ludwig Mies van der Roche from 1930 to 1933.

Hannes Meyer - 

Ludwig Mies van der Roche - 

What kind of changes to art education was the school created for?

The Bauhaus movement founder wanted to create more jobs and opportunities for people who chose to work more creatively which relates to the social and industry factors. However the reason for it closing definitely related to politics.

The Bauhaus school combined the fine arts with design education with the hope of bringing art and industry together to enable people to work more creatively if they choose to giving the people more options for success in what they were more passionate about. One example of what they did was paintings which contained things such as flat planes with overlapping shapes to suggest dimensionality, other Bauhaus artists created things such as abstract sculptures, collages and posters containing blocks of colour and bold typography. The movement also wanted to reform education and change the way people were taught with more practical work.

Walter Gropius also thought that all crafts such as architecture and geometric shapes should be combined to enable more experimenting with form and how different objects can be presented which would also relate to and fit the new era of machines.

What are some of the main design principles this school and design movement are credited for pioneering in the Graphic design?

One of the principles Bauhaus is credited for is “form follows function” where the shape of an object or building should relate to its intended purpose or function. Another principle is having a design that can be easily reproduced, this was used to have a design that can be shown to multiple people in a short space of time, this could be used to help get a message across quickly and have a bigger influence, this also relates to minimalism and to visual language theory. The school also helped influence more modern design with the use of geometric shapes. Typography was also experimented with at the school.

The movement taught many things on its own also such as staying true to materials and not manipulating or covering them up to make them appear as something else and allow the material to be experimented within its natural appearance, this lead to new and innovative designs such as in chairs and lamps which would include unique framework and supports. Simplicity was also promoted by the movement due to the machines being used with them being able to repeat certain processes a lot more accurately than a person along with them being able to mass produce which would be achieved at an even quicker rate if the design were to be more simplistic, due to these principles the movement influenced architecture, graphic design and even product design.

3 examples of Bauhaus Graphic Design that reflect these design principles and why.

This first example by Joost Schmidt I think follows these principles since the design is very simple with not much texture but also the colours and type are bold and stand out which is one of the things Bauhaus is known for, geometric shapes are also used commonly throughout the design.

The second example is by Herbert Bayer, the design uses a lot of different fonts placed at different angles and the kerning being different for each word along with added bold to add more effect, the design also includes geometric shapes which make the design more effective and adds disorder to the design which relates to the context of when the image was being made since this was for the Bauhaus’s last dance in Weimar before its move Dessau.

The third example is by Josef Albers, this design focuses heavily on being minimalistic with a style which is easy to replicate, the design experiments with different contrasting colours and geometric shapes.

3 examples of contemporary Graphic Design that reflect the design principles and guidelines explored by the Bauhaus and why.

This first example by Jon Contino follows some of the Bauhaus principles such as the different fonts used and where the texts are positioned with different angles to fit into the shape, bold is also used on the text and has good contrast with the colour of the hand, the design is also semi minimalistic to replicate.

The second example is by Paul Rand where typography is being experimented with a lot with the different amounts of bold for each image along with different fonts, kerning and where to be positioned. Colour is also experimented with along with the texture of the geometric shapes, the designs are also mostly simple and easy to create multiples of.

The final example of a contemporary design includes the principles of geometric shapes, good contrasting colours and minimalism. The text also has been adjusted to help suit the main design above it along with its own gradient to add effect. If the text were bold or at a different angle this would have included even more principles, however, this could have made the design as a whole less symmetrical and possible less easy on the eye.

The work made during the Bauhaus movement and at the Bauhaus school was created by using physical objects such as rulers and other tools to get the correct measurements along with having to mix paints to get a specific colour. Today, however, a lot of design is done with the use of technology making the process a lot easier and less time consuming which would lead to overall more experimenting and therefore a perhaps better more thought out effective design.

Sources - 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus

https://mymodernmet.com/what-is-bauhaus-art-movement/2/

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-defining-characteristics-of-Bauhaus-design

https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-bauhaus-movement-in-graphic-design-impact-application.html

https://99designs.co.uk/blog/trends/graphic-design-trends-2018/

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Aaron Draplin work

What is successful in this design?

I think that this design works since it’s very simple so it’s easy to remember and has a good consistent colour scheme with the dripping effects adding 3D elements and texture which makes the design more interesting to look at.

What is successful in this design?

The lines and even the triangles help direct the eye to certain parts of the design which attracts more attention and adds 3D elements, as well as the lines directing the eyes the colours used do this also with the tones appearing to become lighter the closer to the centre they are which adds symmetry to the design and makes it more pleasing to look at, this also adds depth to the image.

The colours used are distributed evenly and with not much negative space keeping the whole image interesting without some areas appearing to be overpowered. The black strokes help separate the image and make it come across as aggressive.

The shapes are used in a way to represent naturalistic objects, along with the colour being repeated for objects which relate such as the rocks and the mountains both being made from the light to dark grey colour pattern.

What is successful in this design?

I think that this design is specifically successful since it follows the red, white and blue colour scheme for the background as it represents the American colours. As well as this sticking with the American theme the actual flag itself with the stars and stripes are shown in the lower half of the design. Other interesting aspects include the different simple lines and shapes used to represent a landscape like how the wavy lines represent the water and the more oval smooth shapes represent the clouds.

The face in the image also has a similar basic line structure as the background so that it doesn’t look out of place yet has it’s own human-like basic colour so that it stands out and doesn’t come across as overpowering. The face is also centred with the lines angled towards it to also help direct attention.

Who influenced his work?

In general, musicians who write their own songs and perform them inspire him since he can relate to and appreciate their creativity, Barack Obama is another person he is influenced by since he liked his dignity and decorum. First starting as a designer he would look through design magazines, his favourite magazines to look at were those from Charles Spencer Anderson.

Stefan Kanchev

Who was Stefan Kanchev and what kind of artwork did he produce?

Kanchev was a Bulgarian graphic designer most known for his logo design work, he also was known for his trademark work, book covers, posters, greetings cards, print advertisements, stamps, product labels and packaging. Most of his logo designs were in a standard black and white colour scheme whilst the rest of his artwork included colour but some still had black covering up most of the artboard since it would always look modern and have the text be as clear as possible. Kanchev was also inspired by traditional Bulgarian art and folklore.

3 examples of his work that I find interesting and inspiring -

1 - 

From a graphic design point of view, I think that this first example is intriguing since it contains multiple objects in one like a pareidolia image which makes people think more and possibly make them relate to the image subconsciously, the image also makes the viewer think even more wondering why the face of the character is a spiral, the way the tree is formed adds 3D aspects with the branches looking like they are coming inwards, as well as this the whole image is made up of just one line which comes across as creative yet simple at the same time giving the viewer a path to follow and a sense of direction.

2 -

This image like the first example only consists of black and white showing that colour isn’t necessary for a design to be interesting, this design also has 3D aspects but on a larger scale with the design appearing to be turned to almost a side on perspective with the viewer seeing of one side of the design than the other. This image also contains a lot of negative space and uses it in a way to add symmetry. The design is also interesting in terms of making your brain see things which aren’t there for example in this image I see a white circle being inside the logo in the bottom half even though there is nothing there, the illusion is probably being shown due to the fact that in the upper half of the design there is no oval line around the black dot to make the white circle so your brain tries to fill in the information.

3 - 

Finally, I found this image which I think comes across as interesting since the colour scheme is different and stands out with the black background, I also like how when the Roman numeral characters cross with the “track” different colours are shown revealing hidden shapes such as the Star Of David in the Xs and a rectangle in the I which could have a hidden meaning which also makes the viewer think. The white writing on the black background also adds a nice clear contrast and focuses a lot of the attention on that word especially since it’s in the centre of the design and circled.

Could have Draplin been influenced by the work of Kanchev?

Looking at the examples I have chosen from each of the artists I think that influence can be shown through the use of line work and how they come across as dominant in some of the images. 

Sources - 

http://draplin.com/

https://www.designboom.com/design/aaron-draplin-ddc-interview/

https://www.thelogocreative.co.uk/designer-interview-with-aaron-draplin/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Kanchev

http://stefankanchev.com/en/index.html

http://tenminuteinterviews.com/aaron-draplin/

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Alexander Rodchenko and Shepard Fairey

Alexander Rodchenko (1891 - 1956) -

Alexander worked for 41 years from 1915 to 1956. During his lifetime he worked with many different medians revolving around art including painting, sculpting, graphic design and even photography.

Shepard Fairey (1970 - present day) -

Shepard was born in the United States during 1970 and started working as a street artist in 1989 with him creating the “André the Giant Has a Posse” campaign, Shepard is still working today with his most famous work including the design of Obey clothing and the Hope poster in 2008 during Obama's run for presidency.

Shepard has worked with other medians such as painting where he created a towering mural to tribute Nelson Mandela and the 25th anniversary of the Purple Rain Protest.

Similar themes between the artists - 

In terms of colour in the two images, I have chosen to represent each artist they both share the same scheme of being black, white/yellow and red. Rodchenko used these three colours as his final statement saying “ "I reduced painting to its logical conclusion and exhibited three canvases: red, blue and yellow. I affirmed: it's all over. Basic Colors. Every plane is a plane and there is to be no representation." Shepard has been very open about his artistic influences and took inspiration from Rodchenko using the same colour scheme. The colours contrast well and help spread a message to the viewer using alerting and harmonizing colours.

They both also have geometric shapes surrounding the main object/focus of the image which helps the object stand out both even having arrows pointing as if it’s controlling the viewer's eye in where to look which would also relate to the word “Obey”. They both also have many straight lines which would add symmetry and make the image easier to understand and look at.

They both have 3D elements such as the lines appearing to go inwards in the obey image and the plane appearing to be outside the black border yet in the red interior.

Typography wise they both have a consistent baseline with each line having a different length with similar leading. Something they do differently is the obey image consists of different amounts of tracking and the plane image appears to be more consistent.

My design with inspiration from the two artists - 

How was this done?

To start, I saved an image of a person from Unsplash.com and placed it into Illustrator where I used the pen tool to go around the face outline and some of their facial features, such as the eye and eyebrow, I wanted the eye to be the main focus of the image so I tried to be accurate with how the eyelash looked with a lot more detail here than other areas of the poster.

I originally was only going to have one face so I angled the lines so that they would be pointing towards the eye to help draw in attention. At this stage the colours of the image were very different and looked overpowering with the face being red and the light in the pupil being white, I looked at the colour scheme of the eye in the Obey poster and used the same colours and changing the colour of the face to a yellow which I thought made the piece look easier to view. This also made the lines have better contrast with the face colour.

I rotated and reflected the face since there was a lot of empty space which weakened the impactfulness, I decided to add the text “Public Eyes” since it would fit with the eyes looking both directions and that the public sees a lot of things public figures do and take influence from them.

Successful?

I would say that this was carried out successfully since I think it looks effective and displays a message that should make the viewer think. I think the distribution is displayed well and that the number of colours and the colours chosen have an impact.

What went well?

Going around the actual facial features with the pen tool went well since it was easy to do and looked accurate to an actual face making the piece come across as more relatable.

What didn’t go so well?

Sticking to the colour scheme I could have used more red to look more interesting and catch more attention, also due to the amount of bland colour used across the poster I think the style appears more of a classic 60s poster and not modern which wasn’t my intention.

What I would do differently next time?

Next time I would try to have the colours come across as more impacting which could be done by adding more colours or just have the interesting colours take up more space on the image.