COLLIDE
Project/Assessment Task: Individual Task = create both physical and digital outcomes in response to the three themes explored. • Explore and evaluate the creative propositions beyond the parameters of your chosen project • Produce outcomes that respond effectively and coherently and meet your projects initial aims and objectives • Resolve technical and aesthetic problems utilising and practising a variety of working methods • Present and communicate developmental work and outcomes in a manner appropriate to your discipline and to high professional standard Collaborate = create artefacts and curate an exhibition of work to launch the Collide Event Exhibition outcomes for screen based media as well as physical installation pieces Consider, explore and mash-up the three themes; Happiness/ the Internet/ Your Future Self; Sagmeister urges us not to convey happiness but to ‘evoke happiness’. Coupland misses his pre-internet brain – should we embrace this ‘inevitability’? The future – the virtual or reality – will we fake it, or keep it real? Ten years from now what will you be doing? ‘Collide’ requires you to appropriate and converge a variety of mediums for exhibition at the Collide Event: Graphic Design Posters, Fanzines, Book, Magazine, E-zine, Manifesto, Marketing Strategy, Direct Mail, Advertising Campaign, Advertisements, Copy, Photography, Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube, Vimeo, Vine, etc…). 3D artefacts, installations, events and experiences.
The Happy Show Sagmeister, who has documented his struggles with alcohol and drugs, weight gain, and depression, first conceptualized The Happy Show in an attempt to define and control his own happiness during a client-free sabbatical—a year-long break he takes every seven years to creatively recharge. The final display is the result of 10 years of research into his own personal happiness. Confronted with stories about wellness, mindfulness, and sexuality, viewers will be immersed in an experience akin to walking into Sagmeister’s mind. The Happy Show is comprised of an array of engaging infographics, video projections, and interactive installations, including a stationary bike that powers a wall of neon, a giant inflatable monkey, and a series of gumball machines that displays visitors’ collective level of happiness. Audiences will also enjoy a preview of Sagmeister’s soon-to-be-released documentary, The Happy Film, which depicts his attempts to increase his happiness through meditation, cognitive therapy, and mood-altering pharmaceuticals.
Inspired by Stefan Sagmeister’s Happy Show
I decided to make questionnaire to find out what makes people happiest. I asked students to answer this question quickly in 1 or 2 words. Results shows that: friends; music; flowers; movies; wine; chocolate; good grades; car; achievements; nice weather; pickles; snow; basketball; sleep; kittens; sun; weddings; holidays; meditation; knowledge; shopping; gaming; surprises; sport; healthy food; beard; job; parties; progress; sex; new experiences; luxury; art; coffee; travelling; presents; Apple products; dating; League of Legends; fragnance; relatinonship... makes people happy.
Counting questionnaire results - Picking the most popular ones - Illustrating them! According to my questionnaire the most popular results were - nice weather, coffee and music. The most interesting answer were pickles. I decided to illustrate these 4 things who makes people happier. I took my camera, I made small composition and took pictures. First photo represents - nice sunny weather/holidays Second - pickles Third - coffee Fourth - music After that I started editing these pictures, added a comment and made small postcards.
I started thinking about my FUTURE. I started from mindmap, which shows how many questions are in my head, and how many different answers it could be. Where will I live? What job will I have? Will I be happy?
Vivian Maier
04 AUGUST - 05 SEPTEMBER 2015 Vivian Maier was a professional nanny who, unbeknownst to those that knew her, used her spare time to scour the streets of Chicago and New York, using her trusty Rolleiflex, to shoot up to a whole roll of film each day. Unknown in her lifetime, she left an outstanding body of work composed of more than 100,000 negatives and undeveloped roll films. Her recent ascent from recluse to revered artist is phenomenal, and has become one of the most remarkable stories in the history of photography. Her photographs show her exceptional eye for detail and flair for composition. They are witty and intelligent, and charged with a strong sense of empathy. She took photographs of the downtrodden as well as the well-heeled, of youth and of age. Maier was endlessly inspired by the lives around her.
I decided to make self portrait and add wrinkles to see how will I look in 20 years. My Photoshop skills wasn’t that good, so I had to watch more tutorials to find out how to make realistic wrinkles, shadows, to change hair/eyebrows colour, how to make eyes look tired, and to reduce lips. I enjoyed it a lot! It was funny to play with my picture and see how would I look older.
All these outfits represents different personality and achievements. Casual - not many achievements, working for minimum wage, enjoying small things in life. Smart - working in big advertising/business company, working hard, taking over leadership roles, confident. Night out - friendly, chatty, flirty, irresponsible. Haven’t achieved a lot, because of parties and alcohol problems. Elegant - working in the good company, taking care about appearance, going to yoga and being positive about life. Posh - successful at work and making loads of money. Living in San Francisco and enjoying spending money.
Every life style has different look! I chose the best pictures from photo shoot and edited them. First one - party girl - I added many wrinkles, because of smoking and unhealthy life style, shadows around eyes. This picture shows how will I look in 10 years if I will live irresponsible life with many bad habbits. Second - workoholic - I lightened eyebrows, added smiling wrinkles around eyes, and stress wrinkles on the forehead. If I will take leadership roles at work it will cause me loads of stress. But apart of that I will be happy and enjoying life! Third - healthy and active - this picture shows how will I look in 10 years if I will stay active, take care of my appearance, living without stress and doing meditation. I added small wrinkles on forehead and changed hair colour to dark brown (healthy hair). Fourth - rich - I made this portrait without any wrinkles, because of plastic surgery, I whitened my teeth and changed hair colour to bright red.
I tried to combined typography with my photographs. Instead of putting wrinkles on my face I exopressed it with words and typed them on face.
Bobby Neel Adams. Much of the photographic work of New York- based artist Bobby Neel Adams addresses “the transformation of the human body by aging and circumstance. “In the late 1980s, Adams began to use a photo montage technique he termed “photo-surgery“, which involves manual cutting, collage, and the occasional defacing of the subject portrayed.
Inspired by Bobby Neel Adams I made collage with my photo.
Back to happiness!
I was looking at positive quotes, which makes you smile. I picked the best ones and illustrated them. I decided to make a small book which would keep you positive with inspirational quotes. I made sketches for illustrations and made better version of them with illustrator. Also I chose font, which looks good and which you can easily read.
Happiness is your choice - small book with positive quotes. “Positive thinking is the way to happiness. In this book you will find optimistic quotes which will make you smile“
I made research about A. Maslow pyramid of needs, Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which is one of the founders of positive psychology and psychologist Martin Seligman who talks about momentary pleasures and PERMA.
After this research I realised why people are happy for different reasons. It depends where do you stand in A.Maslow pyramid and what are your needs. Person who is starving won’t be able to think what is his life goals, he will think just about food, and that will make him happy. According to PERMA people are also happy for pleasures (warm bath, massage), however it is shortterm happiness.
I decided to make Elixir of Life drink for different type of people. I had to think about which glass would fit each category. I chose fancy cocktail for party people, glass of wine for workoholics, glass of water for healthy ones and martini for rich. You can see my sketches and development. First of all I made different drinks, I chose suitable ones and added text, which represents each of them.
Development on Adobe Illustrator
Adding colour and and final outcome of cocktails
I liked the idea of Elixir of Life, but I wasn’t happy enough with cocktails. I could use them to make a menu, but I wanted to make a product, which people could buy in the shop. I started thinking about packaging design and elixir ingredients. If you want to choose the best drink for you, which would make you happier, you should read what ingriedients are suitable for you and reflects the most your personality. Elixir of life will help you to concentrate on your individual goals and will warn you about side effects.
This was my first attempt of making design of logo for bottle. It was not successful and I didn’t like it. I didn’t know how to start, what colour to use for background. Therefore I made more research about bottle design I picked the bottles I liked.
Inspired by Requila beer design I made 33 different patterns which I will use for my bottle design.
Design looks a bit better than the first attempt, however I was still not happy about bottle design. I think I used too many details, it looks cheap and you can’t even see the Elixir of Life logo. I made more research in bottle packaging , where design doesn’t look too crowded and more elegant.
I decided to use circle for my logo. I wanted to use my patterns, which I already created so they nicely fit to my circle. I chose futuristic typeface for my names of drinks. They look clear and readable from the distance. Elixir of Life is in black background, as well as half of circle - this way you can see better contrast and balance. You can see my 6 designs. I am happy about most of them, but I am not sure yet, which one I will use for my Elixir.
I chose to use basil drink as my Elixir of life. This drink has many different tastes and colours, also basil seeds looks mysterious and it can represent each of my ingredients. In following page you can see my final design for Elixir of Life. I chose pattern which looks like basil seeds. I also edited names of drinks and I wanted them to be no longer than 4 letters.
Choosing colour I picked pink colour for YOLO drink. For me this colour is associated with teenage girls and parties. I chose blue for WORK, because it reminds me smart suits for work. Yellow for VITA ,because it is colour of sun and is associated with energy and summer time when people are most active.
Small warning notes
I found some nice fabrics, which I will use for my final design, so I changed logos colours to match the fabric. I changed colour of VITA to green, because healthy people eat loads of vegetables and use eco products. I picked white colour for LUXE, because it is diamonds colour.
Considering which bottle to use for my elixir. I tried different size beer bottles, however I didn’t like brown glass. I want to use transparent glass, so you could see basil seed drink.
FINAL OUTCOME
Project and development by: Agne Baksyte Student ID : U1363657 The University of Huddersfield 2016