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adams-alphabet Art School C*nts Maybe I should elaborate on my theory...at art school, like any school, there are cliques. The art school equivalent of the ‘cool kids’ would be the Art School C*nts. These are the guys and girls with the art school dress sense and haircuts. They party in East London and delight in going to obscure private views. They swan around like maverick creatives which they may or may not be - who knows. Its hard to tell if they are trend-setters or trend-followers. I hope I am not one these guys. I might be though, I do wear a Barbour.
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Books
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I have a tendency to accumulate graphic design books and never read them.
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I’ve decided to put an end to this! I’ve read three books already this year, and I really enjoyed them. One book at a time, I am going to be a reading machine!
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Collagraph Through out the first term I signed up for various printing inductions. Surprisingly, collagraph was one of my favourites. A piece of card is used as a starting point for a plate. The surface is then added to, or scraped away, to create relief. The plate is sealed with shellac, intaglio inked and printed like a traditional etching plate.
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Drop Out I went to university once before. I studied Fine Art but I chose to leave in the second year. It felt like the right thing to do at the time; the course wasn’t stimulating, another year and a half seemed pointless. Someone called me a ‘drop out’ once. I didn’t like how it sounded and I haven’t forgotten it. So I’m back at university to put that right and become a graduate.
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Enjoyment I get bored. I am bored. Bored of this project, bored of being a student again. I want to be out in the real world doing something worthwhile.
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adams-alphabet Friends I’m a one man wolf pack. One of my close friends let me down. Our paths don’t cross anymore. I have friends now, but not close friends. It feels like there’s a void but I’m still too bitter to do anything about it.
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Green “Don’t design landfill.” “Beautifully designed things have value and longevity, but mediocre design usually ends up in a bin.” These two statements were made by a speaker at a talk I recently attended; How To Be An Eco Creative. It made me aware of some important issues in design and in the wider world. I have since made a conscious decision to try my upmost to be a socially responsible designer. I want to pass the message on and help raise awareness. These sites are a good start: Three Trees Don’t Make A Forest Lovely As A Tree Transition Towns Chris Jordan
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Handwriting I have always liked handwritten type. I think this quote from Stefan Sagmeister sums up its appeal: “I am not obsessed with typefaces and find the selection of just the right one a rather tedious exercise. Using my handwriting eliminates that process, personalizes the piece and can be interpreted as an anti-computer statement all in one easy move.�
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Isobel Williams
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I met Izzy in October. I liked her instantly. She’s the sunshine kid.
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Izzy: > is my favourite illustrator > doesn’t get in bad moods > refers to herself in the third person > has quickly become one of my best friends Check out Izzy’s blog she’s great.
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Juxtaposition Juxtaposition is an image placement approach whereby related or contrasting images are placed side by side. It may imply similarity or dissimilarity.
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Know Your Alphabet I found this poster at the 99p Store in Elephant and Castle. Its one of my favourite examples of an A-Z. It brings back childhood memories.
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Letterpress Its taken a while - but I finally got to try letterpress. I enjoyed setting type by hand, it appealed to my obsessive nature. I hope to find excuses to spend more time in the letterpress studio this year.
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Mantras I read Things I Have Learnt In My Life So Far by Sefan Sagmeister. I felt inspired to produce some mantras of my own. I like them, but I do feel this sort of typography is verging on pretentious. Also, I noticed writing mantras can make you think you’re wiser than you actually are. I just found a whole website of this stuff: Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far But two is enough for me. Who’s going to top Sagmiester anyway?
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Newspapers What amazes me about newspapers is the speed and quantity with which we consume them. The rise of free newspapers means they are now more abundant and less valuable than ever before. Yesterday’s news is old news, but yesterday’s newspapers are forgotten.
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Origami “Our culture and society rest upon twenty six firm pillars, the letters of the alphabet, and they’re not going to give way that easily�
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In his book The Essentials of Visual Communication, Bo Bergtrom says it can seem as though pictures are our enemies, but letters are our friends.
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He says most people are afraid of pictures; and analysing a picture can often say more about the person doing the analysis than about the picture itself, which turns the process into a kind of self-portrait. He suggests that on this basis we have to hope that the pictures teach us the value of admitting our secrets and the dangers of hiding them.
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Poster, Print & Process I designed a poster to encourage my new course mates to join me for a night out in Hoxton (see Art School C*nts). I printed it digitally, then made further prints using solar etching. This technique is similar to traditional etching but allows you to develop images directly on to the plate with UV light.
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QUACK! She is the mother duck! I owe her a lot, probably more than a load of cards with ducks on and one letter of an A-Z.
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Relationships
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I’ve dated plenty of attractive girls but I’ve never been in a serious relationship. I’m 25; I wonder at what age I’ll start to get concerned?
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Saint Sagmeister In the acknowledgements of the book How To Be A Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, it says; “Thanks to Stefan Sagmeister, the patron saint of this book.” Sagmeister has now been bestowed with the prestigious honour of the patron saint of Adams Alphabet. Sagmeister’s work has inspired me throughout this project and motivated me when I ran out of stream. (It was either him or Isobel Williams, and it couldn’t be Izzy because she’d love it too much).
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Talent
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Do some people have a different way of seeing and thinking? Is talent gained from experience or are you born with it?
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I think design can be learnt, yet some people have a natural talent for it. It pains me to admit it, but I don’t really consider myself to be a talented designer. I’m not sure I have the raw ability or the creativity.
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I will work hard to be a technically strong designer. I would like to lead projects and work alongside the more talented designers. I do however, have some friends who are very talented designers and create beautiful works. Check out these guys: Rob Francis Joe Hughes Isobel Williams Mike Calandra
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Universal Language Universal Language refers to the language of symbols. I designed a set of abstract symbols to be used by hunters. I don’t know any hunters, but I’m sure hunters would love them.
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Vinyl
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Vinyl is wonderful. No other format of music is collected and treasured like vinyl and most likely, never will be again.
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adams-alphabet Web Design I’ve dedicated this year to acquiring skills that will help get me employed. Knowledge of web design seems to be in high demand, so I’m studying short courses alongside the degree.
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adams-alphabet Xerox The photocopier is almost regarded as obselete, but I still think its a great tool for image making. I used it a lot during our workshops at the start of the year and I think its good to embrace anything that gets you off the computer!
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adams-alphabet Yellow I like yellow, it evokes happy memories. When I see yellow I think of sunshine, flowers, postit notes and rubber gloves. I think I’m correct in saying that the combination of yellow and black creates the strongest possible contrast of any two colours.
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adams-alphabet Apple + Z
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Apple + Z should be a sin! Which would make me a sinner.
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I live in the ‘undo’ culture. I worry it makes me complacent. I know I should spend more time thinking and planning a design, but I head straight for the computer safe in the knowledge I can always ‘undo’. I wish I did more design manually. Letterpressing, screen printing, sketching and drawing. Even cutting, and pasting with scissors and glue. I’m going to make an effort to try for the remaining two terms.
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