Typeface

Where: Conor Lecture Theatre, UU York Street Campus
Date: Thursday 25th March 2010
Doors: 7pm,
Tickets: £5

I just wanted to give a shout out about this amazing screening that is taking place at the University of Ulster Belfast in the next few weeks. The above video is a trailer for the film which focuses on The Hamilton Wood Type Museum in Two Rivers, a Midwestern Museum and print shop where international artists meet retired craftsmen. The film explores traditional technique and modern design, the combination of the historical and contemporary. One weekend every month the silence of the museum is interrupted by the buzz of fellow mid west artists whom drive across country to partake in print workshops. The unfortunate truth is that this magnificent museums days are numbered.

“A film about perseverance and preservation in the heart of America.”
BUY tickets here!

This is a must see website. It is probably the best interactive website I have ever visited. It is plain, simple, to the point yet extremely fun.

The website was launched this month and was designed by Swedish interactive production company Kokokaka. It was designed to debut Wrangler’s Blue Bell Jean Spring Collection. Without giving too much away, the website is designed to allow the viewer to interact with the model using drag on your cursor. You get to see the clothes in action, try before you buy almost! Intrigued? Well go check it out, it can be enjoyed on many levels, it is for a male line but to me seems aimed at a female audience but from a design aspect it is pretty amazing, puts the power of flash websites to a whole new level! You can also download scenes, music from the site too. A site to remember! Let me know your thoughts on it! I love it!

This is what the package I mentioned previously contained. I am a published author and illustrator now.

Well not quite! For the last project of the semester in December, we were asked to create a visual narrative on an issue that effects designers in everyday working life. I chose to highlight the ethical and moral issues that designers meet everyday and the consequences of designers job choices. I chose to challenge myself and design something unexpected. I had already designed two posters that semester, I had previously created an animation, I wanted to create something different. Something in print that could be sent out to designers that would interest and intrigue them. So I settled on the idea of creating a 28 page, hand illustrated kids book that would visually illustrate the story, with little text, so it could be quickly read and digested.

I decided to name the book Jasper, I wanted to make a brand, a character that could last longer than one story book. A character that could present designers with different issues and stories that would affect and be appreciated by the design community. I wanted to create a character, that would be instantly recognisable that could beautifully transfer on to merch etc. I created this unique little guy, tall, with long, thin legs and arms, that only ever wore jeans with graphic t shirts. I wanted him to be approachable, someone a designer could relate to. Not some straight laced, well to do character whom dictated to the designer what they should and should not do. If you have not already gathered from my previous work I absolutely adore colour, and I wanted to make this book incredibly colourful just like any other kids picture book. Here are some pages from the book:

Throughout the book where possible I tried to experiment with typographic layout. Through my research of kids books, I found a disconnection between word and image, that words were just an after thought in their placement and they just looked awkward.

I also experimented with layout and framing. So pages were spilt into sections with differing illustrations, some were extreme close up illustrations with little detail, some were far away with much detail creating a scene.

I tried to keep the characters simple, not fussy in detail or colour. I wanted the characters to remain constant in style and shape throughout.

Below is the final page. I finished the book with a simple hand written statement by Jasper. I wanted the eye to be drawn to the statement so I used white space, rejecting the fussiness of any form of a background or creating any vision of a scene. The emphasis is on the message of the story, one last powerful hit.

I only had a week to write the story, illustrate all 28 pages, scan them in, typographically place the text, and send to the printers. It was an extremely intense process, but I was extremely excited to receive the finished product, a beautiful book in my hands that I had written and designed. This is definitely a venture I will return to very soon, I would love to create and illustrate actual kids books, but next time I will take more time to fully experiment with the process and outcome, maybe die cutting or pop up?

This is the back page to the book. I wanted the back cover to be hectic and the front cover to be simple. I have Jasper leaning over into the front cover, looking innocent and inviting, but you do not discover until the end or until you turn to the back that he is trying to hide his dirty secrets, the designs he has created that have bestowed awful consequences onto other living beings. I was so pleased with the cover.

Let me know what you think of my first book.

In the last semester at university we as a class undertook the task of creating a publication, that would be sent out to local and international studios to showcase the talent within our year. This project was a group project, and the class was divided into groups of 3, and we were each given a studio or creative to interview. After the interview we had to design, and come up with a proposal for the publication, whether it be print as in a book, a collection of cards, or posters or be it media, in the form of a DVD or CD, or a website. My group received the amazing opportunity to interview Dublin Creative, Creative Director for Dynamo and Co Founder of The Small Print; Richard Seabrooke. It was an overwhelming task to undertake, interviewing a designer of such calibre and then designing some form of publication that he would then see, and would be tied to him. The pressure was at times overwhelming but I think that just added to the creative process, as a group we broke up designing and working on different parts of the proposal. One of us designed posters, another packaging and another quotes from printers etc.

These are some of the pieces that I created for this project. My main task was to create posters for the publication. We had decided to propose to the class that we create a package which inside housed 18 posters, each creatives interview on one separate poster. Double sided and full colour, one side holds an interview designed using a beautiful typographic layout which compliments folds and the otherside an illustrative poster that in some way represents the subject.

I created over twenty designs for the poster. I adore the colours and the modular typography used in the branding for Richard’s company The Small Print, and the idea of modular shapes and colours is what I ran with, when creating the posters. Some where photomontages, some purely typographic, so illustrative and some a mixture of all. The poster was thin long rectangle, made from two squares. The fold was two diamond folds on each of the squares. Each poster, is received as a square, and it unfolds beautifully, I think it is an extremely exciting fold.

I created this little cost effective envelope (as a cheaper alternative to the beautiful one that we had proposed that Rory Murphy designed). It is created out of a piece of tracing paper, with the name of the participants wrapping around it, and a beautiful bold sticker begging the recipient to open it. I wanted the envelope to be visually exciting and intriguing.

The idea then being that once the envelope was opened 18 mini squares would be awaiting inside, to be opened and the viewer would be faced with a informational interview, that they can read and then once finished they can stick up the posters of their choice, if not all of them, in their offices.

Below is the contents of the package that the recipient would receive. Unfortunately, this proposal was not chosen although we put up a good fight and I am extremely proud of this piece of work.

I recently received the most exciting package in the post. I have never been so excited or nervous of receiving post in my entire life. I do not think I have ever opened a piece of mail so fast. ( I also don’t think I have seen a package sealed with so much glue.) I had tracked this parcel for four days as it traveled from one side of Europe to another via FedEX. I will upload the parcels contents once I get pictures later on this evening.

Banksy’s New Film ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’, debuts at the Sundance Film Festival this Sunday (24th January). In the past Sundance have shown films by unknown artists but with this film Banksy is making history at Sundance as they have never shown an anonymous film. When I first saw the trailer I did not take it seriously I thought that it was just a joke, but no it is an actual documentary, you will see what I mean when you watch it.

The Sundance press release on this film is as follows:

“Los Angeles–based filmmaker Terry Guetta set out to record this secretive world in all its thrilling detail. For more than eight years, he traveled with the pack, roaming the streets of America and Europe, the stealthy witness of the world’s most infamous vandals. But after meeting the British stencil artist known only as “Banksy,” things took a bizarre turn.

Sundance has shown films by unknown artists but never an anonymous one. Banksy turns the tables on the only man who has ever filmed him, creating a remarkable documentary that is part personal journey and part an exposé of the art world with its mind-altering mix of hot air and hype.“

It is 89 minutes long and Rhys Ifans even narrates it. Definitely a film to see and it does claim to be ‘the worlds first street art disaster movie’.

A very talented designer Paula Cassidy hand crafts these beautiful and playful plushies. She creates palm sized plushie breakfast food consisting of french toast (with berets and moustaches, pop tarts, mushrooms and even fried eggs! She is venturing into Milk Cartons, and also scented tea bag plushies.

I am a proud owner of one of her Pop Tart keyring plushies, mine is strawberry and it is absolutely stunning, a rainbow of vibrant colours sprinkled upon it with neat stitches.

Paula is very passionate about her work, and each plushie is crafted with exceptional skill and quality. Each are absolutely beautiful and as you buy one, you want to buy another to have a complete set.

Paula has even ventured further creating these absolutely beautiful fried eggs and mushrooms. Soft and playful and a must for adults and kids alike, especially to brighten up those studio desks, with their vibrant, feel good qualities.

If you would like to purchase any of Paula Cassidy’s Merchandise they are a steal at £7. Paula will hand craft a one off creation for you, to your colour specification, adding that personal touch, that will ensure the absense of disappointment. They are crafted to the highest quality, and are created with skill and a lot of love and passion.

Contact Paula for orders at: cassidy-p@email.ulster.ac.uk
or check out here website: Paula Cassidy

Now I shall attempt to teach myself CSS!

Last year I bought his ‘Hope’ booklet, I received number 187 out of 200. The booklet is blue ink on blue paper and I adore the minimalist approach to the front cover which begs to be opened and the quirky back cover with its upside down graphical detail. The pack includes two random button badges. I have not been able to bring myself to unseal the packaging and have a look at the actual book in the 2 years I have had it, I cherish it too much to increase the chance of it getting damaged.

He signs and numbers every single one, and even takes it upon himself to post them out. I was incredibly impressed when I received the book to find that even the envelope he had taken the time to put his artistic flare on. It shows how much he cares for his work, he wants to showcase it and he wants to make an impact when the buyer receives their merchandise.

The envelope is illustrated front and back with rubber stamps of Soto’s own illustrations with an orange or brown ink, it is a subtle detail which works beautifully and compliments the envelope.

I later purchased his calender with which I received this accompanying booklet. I gave in and opened it when I discovered that some lucky books included hand drawn sketches and hand signed pages. I wanted to know if I was lucky enough to have received one and to my happiness I was.

Within my book, I have a hand signed piece of tracing paper, which Jeff signed with his tag ‘Soto Fish’. I love his personal touches to his products, he cares about his fans, and this effort only blows his fan base wide open.

The book is bursting from front to back, with photographs, sketches, paintings, doodles all by Jeff. Some black and white and some vibrantly coloured. It is a breath taking piece of work.

If you would like to see some of Jeffs work go to his site, his work from past to present is there to view. Whilst you are there check out his blog which he regularly updates with posts on his own work and posts on the work of fellow artists whom inspire him, it is a very inspirational blog so be sure to check it out.

Unfortunately on my trip to Dublin I failed to find The Museum of Modern Art, I ended up on the wrong side of Dublin on the Luis. I really wanted to go to the Museum of Modern Art as they are currently holding an exhibition called ‘Picturing New York’, which has been organised by the Museum of Modern Art, in New York. It is running until the 7th of February and it has photographs by 40 world famous photographers including Berenice Abbott, Garry Winogrand, Lisette Model, Alfred Stieglitz, Cindy Sherman and a photographer I dearly respect Diane Arbus. The exhibition contains 145 photographs all depicting and celebrating New York life, from the 1800’s to the present day. It sounds like an exciting exhibition and I plan to return to Dublin and successfully find the museum before the exhibition wraps up. If anyone is interested in attending this amazing exhibition here are the details:

I was stunned by the immense catalogue of World Famous artists, each museum I shrieked at the art I had stared at for years in books, was now right in front of me. I saw a little bit of Monet, Manet, Renior, Goya, Degas (paintings and sculptures), Gris, Piccasso, and to my immense shock and excitement I even saw Caravaggio’s ‘The Taking of Christ’ which is absolutely breath taking. I have been to the Louvre, the D’Orsay, the Metropolitan NYC, but Dublin is definitely on power with the greats.

Although all this art was exciting the best part of the weekend was going to the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. It is currently holding the ‘Francis Bacon- A Terrible Beauty’ exhibition. Out of all the exhibitions I have ever attended this is definitely the best. It is room after room, floor after floor of information, quotes and works of the extremely talented Dublin born Painter Francis Bacon. Even the Graphic Design and wayfinding of the exhibition were breath taking. Unfortunately, you were not allowed to take photographs in any of the galleries, even phones were prohibited, so I could not photograph any of the exhibitions.

The exhibition started with a video presentation of Francis Bacon back in the 90’s in his studio in London, in which he talks about his work ethos and background. He explained how he had never went to art school as he did not want to be told how to draw or paint, he did not want to be forced to mimic the work of any other painter. He chose to teach himself and learn through trail and error, so that he found and carved his own style influenced only by himself, and I think this attitude is what made him a great. The video is facinating, it shows how he liked to work in chaos, his studio was incredibly messy and that is how he liked it, he used the doors and walls of his studio as palettes to mix colours. He also exclaimed how he never sketched before paintings as he felt that once he started the painting he would then only be ‘illustrating a drawing’, which is a beautiful way of thinking.

The video also let you delve deeper into Bacon’s thinking and also showed how unique he was. He exclaimed he always used the wrong side of the canvas, he would turn his canvas around and paint on the unprimed side as it took the paint better and if he made a mistake he would be unable to fix it, he would just go with his brush strokes. He exclaimed how he wanted each brush stroke on the canvas to be like the first, to stand out, and he likened this to painting a wall, how important the first stroke is to the finished product. He exclaimed too that if his brush strokes took him in the wrong direction instead of carrying on and trying to fix the error he would destroy the painting. In one room of the exhibition the walls are lined with paintings that Bacon destroyed, which is probably the most fascinating part of the exhibition. Large canvas line the wall, with large chunks cut out of them, and slits down them created my frantic knife slashes. You really feel like you get into his way of thinking. It is also nice to see the vulnerable side of the artist, in galleries you never see the artists faults or failures just their great pieces of work, you take it for granted you don’t see the numerous pieces that had to fail to get to that point and I think that is why this exhibition is so successful it shows the human side to Bacon, it grounds him, makes him more approachable and easier to embrace, you can relate to him.

The exhibition, is bursting with photographs Bacon used, pages he ripped from books to use as reference (later in his career he preferred to paint from photos than live models), his sketchbooks, notes, paintings, doodles. Everything the gallery could salvage from his studio that showed a personal insight into the life of this artist. The most breath taking part of this exhibition is in the second room. They took his studio from London and recreated it in a huge glass box; walls, ceiling, floors and contents, all arranged to how it was when Bacon worked in it, I could have stared at it all day, it was amazing. Along with his actual studio are photographs of the ajoining two rooms, which housed his kitchen and bathroom which were in one room, and his bedroom and living room which were one room. It was a bizarre living arrangement, but what was odd, was the polar opposite of these two rooms compared to his studio. The studio was a chaotic mess, but his living quarters were absolutely spotless, not a thing out of place, every item had its space, straight and tidy, this was a huge insight into his private life. I don’t want to ruin the exhibition so I will stop there. At the exhibition I bought the book cataloguing it and its contents, it is gorgeous book, beautifully designed from front to back and it is a must to buy in the gift shop and is a steal at only 18 euros! It is a huge book and it is bursting with facts, quotes, paintings (even those he destroyed), his notes, doodles and pages from his sketchbooks!

This is an exhibition not to be missed I could talk about it all day. It runs until the 7th of March, here are the directions and opening times from the flyer:

This is the entire conference pack that I designed. I drew my inspiration from Tiffany Stain Glass, I have always been fascinated by it. It is so delicate and beautiful and the vibrancy is absolutely breath taking.

This is the conference poster that can also work as a flyer or a pdf email.

This was my proposed conference booklet cover, I wanted it to be vibrant and simple. I used a multi-coloured palette for this as I wanted colour to differentiate each piece of literature at the conference.

I felt that the colours together complimented each other beautifully.

Here are some further pieces that show how I tried to effectively use type, line and colour to compliment each
other and break up the format and show hierarchy.

“Think of and look at your work as though it were done by your enemy. If you look at it to admire it, you are lost.”
Samuel Butler

“Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.”
John Updike

“I am still learning.”
Michelangelo

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.”
Leo Burnett

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.”
Albert Einstein

“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.”
Paul Rand (I can relate to this)

“Life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you have one.”
Stella Adler

“I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time.”
Orson Welles

“When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls.”
Ted Grant

“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”
Jamie Paolinetti

“Art has to move you and design does not, unless it’s a good design for a bus.”
David Hockney

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep”
Scott Adam

“Graphic design is the paradise of individuality, eccentricity, heresy, abnormality, hobbies and humours.”
George Santayana

A great quote for students:

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
Pablo Picasso

“The first mistake of Art is to assume that it’s serious.”
Lester Bangs

“Colour does not add a pleasant quality to design – it reinforces it.”
Pierre Bonnard

“The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.“
Bruce Feirstein

“Creative without strategy is called ‘art’. Creative with strategy is called ‘advertising’.”
Jef I. Richards

“Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition.”
Freeman Thomas

Personally I gain so much inspiration from the truth behind this quote:

“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a joke or worried to death by a frown on the right person’s brow.”
Charles Brower

“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”
Dr Edwin Land

Feel free to add to this!