PPP3 : LCA exhibition

Graphic Design Exhibition - Leeds college of Art

For the third year graphic design exhibition I submitted my gold again poster as I felt it was most suitable for exhibition out of the work I have done so far this year as it is a screen printed poster. The range of posters came out well which were done by Lizzi (far left) Abbas (next left) Greta (next to abbas) and mine (far right). The exhibition was really interesting as it was built up slowly and really became something impressive. I enjoyed the concept of the exhibition and the fact that we could work in the exhibition space, although I did not take advantage of this as I was buried in books for dissertation. I am happy with how my poster looks and feel it was places considerately as it was on a wall which was predominantly screen prints done by a range of people.

PPP3 : Printed Textiles year book pitch

Year Book pitch:

Printed Textiles

This is a pitch myself, Greta and Lizzi put together for the year book pitch, specifically for printed textiles. We got our wires crossed when it came to the presentation and only discovered last minute that the pitch was for Graphic Design year book, not other courses, so rather than turn up and seem like we are being ignorant and doing whatever we want, we decided it would probably be best if we email in our pitch with an apology that we got our wires crossed and didn't want to appear rude by pitching for the wrong thing, but unfortunately we were too late for this pitch and our submition for printed textiles was voided, which was disappointing as we had put a lot of effort in to this pitch and truly felt like this concept would give printed textiles i really unique and exciting year book which would represent their beautiful work as well as showcasing themselves as people. As I said we were disappointed but it was our own fault for getting the pitch wrong and thinking the pitch was for any course and not specifically graphic design. We were however allowed to re pitch for graphic design, which we were thankful for, but not for printed textile.

plan:

The plan is to start again, there is no way this concept can be applied to graphic design as we have built it specially around printed textiles and so the concept would not translate well. We will go back to the drawing board and pitch for graphic design.

PPP3 : Gold again

Gold Again:

Greta is running a Kickstarter campaign called 'Gold Again' where she wants to create a golden room in a disused building and create a pop up creative space/ event. She approached me and asked if I would like to design a promotional poster for the event. I have decided to include this brief on my PPP3 as it is a live brief.

The theme of the brief is gold so my task was to make a poster that represents this. Straight away I began by thinking of things that are associated with gold :

- Nuggets
- Teeth
- Jewlery
- Golden oldies
- Money
- Bars

I decided to take the theme of golden oldies and combine it with golden teeth as many golden oldies have  golden teeth. The two of them combined will make quite a humorous and striking image.

 

Above is the illustration I have done for the gold again poster I am happy with how it has come out and when it is screen printed in gold it will be striking with the teeth and earings being solid gold and the rest of the woman being gold lines. Greta has forwarded information that she needs including on the poster such as the logo, tagline and information which I will now develop into a poster with the old woman.

 

I trailed a few designs using the the information inverted into white text against the background but I think once the poster is screen printed this effect will be too harsh and make the information hard to read so I have decided on the simpler design, which can be seen below.

I am happy with how the poster has come out it include all the information that greta set and represents gold well. It will now be screen printed using gold ink which I will help greta do.

Finished Poster:

This is the finished poster screen printed in gold. I did not realise Greta was printing on black stock, so the effect of the poster is not how I imagined but it is definitely very striking, if not a bit scary!

I trailed the old woman on news print to see how she would look and I think she looks better but the gold on black is a lot more striking so it does work well.

PPP3 : Laurie millotte

Laurie Millotte

Laurie Millotte is a designer based in Canada. Laurie first contacted me over Linkdin she sent a really friendly message which I saw as a great opportunity to form a connection with a professional designer.

So that I could engage in a conversation I decided to use my  dissertation as a subject to talk about. I am getting really interesting feedback from designers I have contacted thus far and it is really benefiting both my dissertation, my practice as a designer and also my confidence in learning that contacting designers isn't as daunting as I thought and they are just humans and will either reply or not reply.

Below is the conversation we engaged in. Laurie pointed me in the direction of her side project Flights of insight which coincidentally is based on similar subjects that I have asked her about and have based my dissertation on. The flights of insight website has really helped the progress of my dissertation as it has pointed me in new directions and showcased some new exciting things to research into to do with insight and creativity. For reasons like this it is so beneficial to engage with people as they will more or less all the time know something you don't know that could help you out. 

This is the response I got from Laurie to do with the questions asked. It is really useful and once again great to learn the opinions of a professional designer. From contacting designers it is showing me that creativity is what underpins the industry of graphic design which is good to know.

Hi Suzanne,

I'm back in the saddle!
So glad you like my project Flights-of-Insight. I have more developments coming up with that project as well.

Ok, so back to answering your questions:

- Is the process of creating an idea mechanical or is it more of a moment of inspiration what is your process for approaching a brief?

>>> to me it is more about connecting the dots. I have a very good memory and I just "absorb" a lot of various inspirations day after day, noting the "wow" moments, or the improvements I would have done, seeing how one thing reminds me of another.
When then it comes to creating a new concept, I have this reference bank that supports me in creating and designing new things yet untapped.


- Do you think creativity is important within Graphic Design are there any specific areas of design where creativity is most necessary?

>>> I think creativity is primordial, and not just in Graphic Design. More and more, it is what differences is us from computers. Life should be taken creatively, and if your job is to create brands, than even more so. What I love the most is burst of creativity in areas of life people never thought of looking before (Method Cleaning products is an example, a fun and storytelling wine label is another ;)

- If you hit a a wall on a project do you have a specific method for untangling the problem and furthering your ideas, do you have any unusual methods of stimulating creativity, do you see any benefits in learning some? 

>>> I always have a big notepad next to me. I write down ideas, scratch those which don't work, I make a lot of arrows and circles... No more seriously, I usually do two things: spread out/untangle the problem on paper and browse some bookmarked inspiration websites (not looking at the competition per say, that would be defeating the purpose, but watching how other people creatively proposed their own solutions to existing problems).
I also allow myself to sleep on it. Quite literally, if I can, I let it sit in the back of my mind for a couple of days to go back at it with fresh eyes. I usually then produce in 2 hours better work than if I would have tolled 16!


- Does the design of your studio space influence the way you work?

>>> The space I work in is very basic. The main factor is that it's an open space concept, with high-ceiling. You can breathe and not feel cramped in front of your computer. I share a desk with my senior designer, and the owner of the company with the junior designer. No one is behind closed doors and everyone is aware of what's going on. It makes it easy for the team to be up to date on any given project and submit ideas.

I hope these answers help you!
Let me know if you want me to clarify on some points or if you have any other questions.

Best,
Laurie

PPP3 : I LIKE BIRDS conversation

I LIKE BIRDS

I like birds are a really exciting independent studio based in Hanburg. I have followed there work for quite some time as the stuff they do is very unique, concept driven and doesn't follow trends. It is very creative which makes the work they do stand out and appear as very unique. They work across a mixed media, they do not pigeon hole themselves and just work in one particular way which means their work is always evolving and always very fresh and exciting.

I contacted I like birds asking the same set of questions I am putting to other designers as i am getting a good response from them and it is on subjects and topics that are of great interest to me. Once again I did not expect a studio that I admire to reply but they did and I feel it is a great privilege  that any designer takes the time out of there day to respond to me so I am once more very grateful to the kind people out there!

1) Is the process of creating an idea mechanical or is it more of a moment of inspiration what is your process for approaching a brief? It´s a good combination of both. Some parts need thinking to the point, others happen subconsciously. The idea should be connected to the brief and forms the outcome. It is generally a lot about thinking and communication. 

2) Do you think creativity is important within Graphic Design are there any specific areas of design where creativity is most necessary?

It´s depending on the client, the solution and the job. New, clever, unusual and surprising solutions are (mostly) never wrong.

3) If you hit a a wall on a project do you have a specific method for untangling the problem and furthering your ideas?

For us it works out best keeping the assignment in mind and just follow our everyday life routine/activities. Exchanging our thoughts during meetings from time to time helps us getting deeper into the subject. After a while this process generates the ideas automatically. Writing down our thoughts also helps us a lot. We like to carry a notebook with us. Switching of on the weekends became an important part too - breathing fresh air is clearing our minds.

4) Do you have any unusual methods of stimulating creativity, do you see any benefits in learning some?

Methods for creative thinking never really worked out for us. We are rather inspired by art but not so much by »contemporary« sources like blogs on the Internet - we don´t really like sitting in front of the computer all day. In fact, it’s very rare that we read such things, in contrast to books and specific newspapers. In addition to that, we visit museums, and there are lots of stimuli in everyday life. Things that happen on accident and sudden coincidences.

5) Does the design of your studio space influence the way you work?

No. It doesn´t matter.