contents
01 city in flux
This chapter is a project based on people of the city. How a city inspires me as a designer and how I have shown it in my final outcome. “A city would be nothing without the people in it�...
02 earth artifact
A chapter about a new interpretation of the Golden Record. All about Earth and how we can interact with space.
03 typeface
This chapter is about creating a typeface. Starting by hand based techniques, to turning it into a digital final outcome.
04
modernism & postmodernism
A chapter researching into the modernism and post modernism art movements, presenting findings.
01 city in flux
For this project it was all about the city and how the city can inspire designers, artists, writers, and people in their work. I researched into many different designers, and their designs to get a feel for how they had been influenced by the city, and how it showed through their work, by looking at their work it also helped to inspire me with my own ideas, and to inform me with techniques that they had used. I looked at online sources, books, magazines, and in the city it’s self to get inspiration for this brief as I wanted to see how a city effects
designers and to see how the city effects me as a person. After doing much research I started to believe that the main impact of a city is the impact it has on the people living in it and how they also have an impact on the city, I wanted to be in the city and see this for it’s self. I did this by speaking to people and getting opinions, to see how the city effects them as people, what their view of the city is in which they live in. I based my project around Wakefield. I got peoples reactions by going into different environments and hanging
big sheets of paper up with the title “Draw your view of Wakefield” I wanted to see what people picture when they think of the city and how it might of changed over the years. People also wrote their opinions, but this was interesting because everyone’s opinions were either very different or along the same lines, which shows how different people are effected. The city is a big place and it offers a lot, people are effected by the state of the city, or by the influences the environment offers. I collected the drawings and
AIR MAX
people were commenting on the dress sense which I think shows how the city has changed over the years and what type of fashion and people are around now due to the city environment. This is a trainer somebody drew but I changed it into a vector to make it look sleeker. All this information I collected helped inspire me and show me how a city works and inspires and effects people from day to day, this is just one of the drawings, others included transport, shops, college and environments throughout the city.
“PEOPLE OF
For my final design for City in Flux I did a book design which involved all my posters of opinions, drawings, and all the other opinions I collected from Wakefield College and the Train station. I put them all into a book to show the responses I got from people and to demonstrate my final outcome that I believe people have the most impact on the city to make it fluctuate over time. I believe a city would be nothing without the people in it. Their opinions are important so I wanted to base my final design
around them and put them in my book. This is the typeface from the front cover of my book. This is the main statement and purpose of my book. I think this is a key quote from my City in Flux brief and this is why I have included it, as it sums up my project in one. I used colourful text as I wanted to show that people have personality, and that we are all different cultures and styles, everybody is different. However I overlapped and brought the opacity down to show how society can
cause trends, people follow others to fit in and that opinions overlap as sometimes people are persuaded to think a like. I wanted to play on the way a city effects people by showing it through my typeface to sum my book up. It is striking and stands out which will attract people to my book which is a good technique to use for a front cover which is what I had in mind when designing this typeface. People are the main part of my brief and I based my final piece all around them to show how the city changes.
E THE CITY “
02 earth artifact
For this project it was all about the Golden Record which is a record that was sent up to space on a voyager to represent Earth and show any extraterrestrial life what Earth and the people are like. The record has scenes from the Earth, images, sounds and music on it all which represents the earth and can inform life in outer space what we are like. Our task was to recreate the Golden Record in our own way, this could be by infographics, instillations, posters, any way in which we can represent the Earth to life in outer space. I wanted to think outside the box and
do something completely different to the original record. First I researched into the Golden record to see what was on it and to get a feel for the type of images, sounds, music and scenes that were used, this would give me an insight into how they are informing and perceiving us as a planet. I then moved onto artist research, to see if I could get inspiration and to see what techniques and styles they had used in their work to see how I could use these to communicate with life in outer space and represent the earth. I looked at designs that I could find relevant to the Earth and I also
looked at infographics to see how they display information and work to visually communicate the information across to the viewer, I found some really visual and interesting infographics which inspired me and gave me ideas for my final outcomes. I looked into different facts about the Earth such as what it is made out of, to see if I could show this visually, and I came across the layers of the Earth which I thought would make a great infographic. Next I moved on to looking at percentages to do with the Earth such as, literacy, religion, gross domestic product and food to
see if these facts could be useful and turned into infographics. I wanted my final to be an infographic. I took inspiration from the infographics I found on Pinterest and thought of fun ideas I could do to display these facts and percentages of the Earth. This is when I thought of using jars and filling them with objects that represent the information, this was so that the information and the image connects and it is more understandable to look at, it would be more realistic. This way I could demonstrate the facts and show life from out of space what the objects
look like here on Earth. I was happy with this idea as it was thinking outside the box and was a clever way of creating an infograhic. I tried my idea out by filling the jars with the items and photographing them, I then brought them onto the computer to refine further. I opened the images of the jars up onto Photoshop to dispose of the background and adjust the filters to bring out the sharpness and colours of the jars. Next I added the information of the percentages to complete my infographics. I think these work well as they all link as different factors of the Earth and
tell life from out of space a little bit about Earth and how each country is different. This gives them an idea that where ever they land on Earth it will be different to somewhere else, as I wanted to show Earth as a whole and that we are not all the same. Overall I am happy with the final outcomes as they demonstrate a clear infographic with facts about the Earth. This is part of my layers of the Earth one which is showing you what the Earth is made up of, it explains what materials make up the Earth and each colour represents the different material.
P E R C E N TA G E S O F T H E E A R T H
These are two of the infographics I did for my Earth Artifact brief. The literacy and religion percentages. I picked five different countries to compare the percentages and to show how they differ in countries around the world as I wanted to demonstrate the individual places and to show how other parts are more well off than others. I used different coloured crayons for the education jar as I wanted to use equipment that is used in primary schools and that is used to learn children to write and draw, simple starting stationary, to show how some countries are really uneducated and others have a really good education. I wanted to demonstrate how different parts of the country are ruled and that if you landed in some places it would not be the same as others. I used colourful crayons as I wanted to make my jar eye catching and stand out. I wanted my infographics to look quirky and fun, so that it interacts with people and gets their attention. By using crayons it displays an education tool that we use here on earth. I used lines on my infographic to point to the different
colours so that you can understand which percentage is represented by which colour crayon. I did the crayons at different thickness’s in the jar to represent the percentages and make them look like the amount they are suppose to represent. I wrote a little paragraph at the bottom of each infographic describing a bit about each one so that it has an explanation. The next one I did was on religions to represent the different cultures in the world. I wanted to show that people from all around the world have different beliefs and do not all follow the same faith. I did this by using counters and separating them into different thickness’s in the jar to represents the percentages correctly and then labelling them on the computer as each religion to show how much of the population is that belief. I added religious symbols to the counters to represents the different faiths and to show which symbols represent which religion this also educates life from out of space by showing them what the religious symbols look like here on earth and how these are a big part of the world and the people that life on earth. I
wanted to base my infographics on little bits of important information here on earth and things that are a big part of the world. I think that my infographic information represents this as education is a big thing in this world and many people are fighting for it, religions are a big part of the people living here on earth as it is their beliefs so this represents the people here on earth, food is important as the world can not live without food, money, the world is based on money and nobody can live without money because everything costs, and the layers of the Earth is what is making up the Earth it is holding the Earth together. These are five main parts of the Earth I believe and I wanted to show this and represent this information to life in out of space as I believe this is information that they would benefit from knowing if they ever wanted to visit earth. They are all simplistic designs but represent the information in a clever and quirky way. My infographics stand out as they are colourful and portray information in a fun and more interactive way. They relate words and imagery together.
02 earth artifact
This is my layers of the Earth infographic which was done based on the layers that make up the Earth. I did this by using different coloured sand and layering them on top of each other in the jar, and using a brush to move the sand around in the jar until I was happy with where it sat then I poured the next colour on top. I based this on a photograph I saw of the layers of the earth and worked from there with the coloured sand that I had. I repeated the technique of pouring the sand on top of each other until the jar was full. I then took a photograph of the jar and brought
the images onto the computer to refine it further and to develop it into an infographic. I opened the best photograph in Photoshop and discarded of the background using Photoshop tools such as the magic wand and the eraser. After I was happy with the jar by it’s self I used photo filters such as levels, sharpness, brightness and contrast to bring the colours out and make the jar stand out more and look cleaner. Once I was happy with the way my jar looked I moved onto adding the background and the type. The text was there to explain which each layer
was and to inform what the sand was representing. The purpose of this jar was to show what the earth is made up of and to get right down to the basics of representing the earth to life in out of space by actually looking at the Earth it’s self. I wanted to do something outside of the box and represent the earth in a different way and by representing the layers it was a clever way of showing people the earth. I used this as my first infographic as it is an introduction to the earth it’s self. This is a striking image which catches peoples attention, it represents the earth well.
Another one of my infographics is this one which is about the gross domestic product percentages of the earth, it represents the money for the different countries around the world showing life from out of space how different the world is. Each country has a different value and some are more wealthy than others, I wanted to show how the earth is not all the same and that some countries are completely different to others. It is to show that they could land in different countries and the outcome would be non-identical. I chose to do an infographic on money as I
believe that it is a big part of our earth. Money is what allows people to live, it is used to buy things, sell things, without it people would not survive as everything in this world costs. I wanted to show that this is an important factor of our lives and how it effects places differently. This shows how much different countries earn and make, how different circumstances have an effect on this. I used coins in the infographic to relate to the information I am portraying so that the image connects to the meaning. I used coins as these are easier to see in the jar
and stack them up on top of each other to create the different values and thickness’s. By using money it shows life in space what money looks like and what we use in our every day life to pay for objects and that it is valuable. Money is important and this is why it qualified for one of my five infographics also it effects people harshly around the world and in completely different ways. It is a good way to show what the Earth is built up on and what the people of the earth have to depend on to have a life. All my infographics flow and connect one way or another.
03 typeface
UBERCURVE
Ubercurve is my typeface. A task that we did during process and production. I had to develop a typeface based on influences and designs we were provided with in our workshop. I experimented around with a few of the references to see if I could create a typeface out of the shapes I could get from the influences in front of me. I chose to base my favourite typeface on Herbert Bayer’s example that I looked at as I liked the colourful and curved lines he had used throughout the design and I wanted to base my typeface on this style. I started with the sketches I had drawn and started to develop my typeface. I used a grid, layout paper and pencil at first to sketch out the way in which I wanted my typography to look. I decided to go with the curved lines and make them into curved tubes that are separate from each other making up one letter. I did not want the whole letter to join as I wanted to show each curve as a different element to make it more unique and quirky, this way I could colour each element a different colour to make up the letter. I drew two lines and drew five letters in each and repeated this technique until I had completed my alphabet, this was a rough draft that I did first to get a
feel for how it looked as an alphabet and to see how each letter looked as an individual and to see if they all worked well together as an alphabet. I wanted the letters to look similar so that they related to each other and looked like they are from the same type family this way when using them as a typeface they will not look odd next to each other. Once I was happy with all my letters and I was sure they worked together. I drew out the two lines again measuring them all out the same width down my page and I used a compass to get a smooth curved line to create a neater more accurate drawing of my typeface to see how it will look closer to the final outcome. I repeated this for each letter until I had my alphabet once again and I was happy with all my letters neatly draw out in pencil. Finally I went over the pencil drawings in pen to make the outline bolder to make my typeface stand out, to see how it would look with a strong outline. I played around with colour on some of the sketches to see how I could colour the typeface and to see which colours would work. I found out that the typeface looked better as different shades of a colour but each letter would be one shade, this way it still looks quirky but not too much for the eye to look
at. Finally I took a photograph of my typography and brought it onto the computer to turn it into a vector and to make it into the final typeface. I used the program illustrator, and used the grid, and pen tool to draw out my typography. I plotted anchor points and used the curved line tool and direct selection tool to mould my typography into shape. After I was happy with my first curved tube I reflected it and used this on as many different parts of my alphabet as I could to get a more accurate sizing, and the parts it did not fit I created another element using the same technique of the pen tool. I carried on using these tools until my alphabet was finished which I then added colour too, I experimented with different shades but blue was the best colour for the typeface. My typeface is called Ubercurve as it is all made out of curved lines and uber stands for outstanding, which I think worked well together and represents my typography well as it is a fun name. My typography is colourful and quirky, I wanted it to be fun and have a personality, to not be too serious and strong. Overall I am happy with the way my typography turned out and this has helped develop my typography skills further and learn more about type.
UBERCURVE
This is my final Ubercurve alphabet that I have created. It is fun, quirky and made up out of curved elements. It is striking and bold to catch peoples attentions and will be used as an expressive typeface for designs with personality and a friendly personality.
04
modernism & postmodernism
MODERNISM This is a movement that was in the late 19th centuries and early 20th centuries. It is an era that came from the first world war, and many artists and movements where part of it. There was a belief that it could transform society. It was a time of creating new things, and bringing new ideas into the making. They believed that function should always dictate form, and that less is more. It was the era of surrealism, dadaism, cubism, expressionism, impressionism and much more, these were all different ways of visualising the world, and people were blown away by this. They had many rules in their work that they had to stick to, a grid was part of this, it was all about the grid system and simplicity in their work. They stayed away from the decorative side of design and used structure and space. They liked to try new things, but would not break the rules of design. To put some excitement into their work, they would work on a diagonal instead of horizontal and vertical lines. It was affected by cultural, social and economic conditions of life in
Western Europe, North America and eventually it reached the World. A modernists work was not complex and their way of working was simple, not to overcomplicate things. They didn’t like the expressive way of working, or believe that a design was just for beauty, it was more about the purpose of the design and why they were designing it, the function was a lot more important, they wanted to get information across clearly and quickly so that people understood. They stuck to mainly sans-serif typefaces as these were clean cut and not decorative, they were legible and clear to see. A modernist would not over colour there design and use big bold vibrant colours, as they would stick to a simple colour pallet that was not too over powering because they didn’t want to be too complex. Designs were straight forward in this era and it was all about space, the space was there so that you could focus on the main part of the design. They showed an importance to a design by not overcrowding it and by making the elements on the page clear
and structured. A modernists view was all about simplicity. Brockmann stated that “The greatest works of art impress through their balance, their harmony, their proportions, all of which can be measured.” This shows how designers from this period thought about designs, and how they all worked to proportions, grids and a balance to create a good piece of design work. They all worked to design for a purpose to make a design that had meaning, they believed functionality was key in this design era. I believe modernism to be a inspiring art movement as their designs were stunning through the simplicity and how the designs were not overcomplicated, they were clean and clear to read. The spacial awareness in this movement was great because they were not scared of space and knew how to incorporate it into their designs to make them look elegant and sharp. I do like this art movement however I believe that at times it lacked decorative and expression, some of the designs were boring, and did not excite like some of the other
POSTMODERNISM This is a movement that was in the late 20th century. This was the movement that was all about expressive, decorative and complexity, the total opposite to modernism. It was about having no rules and about been free to do what you want, to give the design a freedom, it was more about what the design looked like and it was a meaningless design. It introduced techniques and things that people had never seen done before, it questioned what style really was. Designs were unique, odd, luxurious, colourful and busy. Images would be layered over each other, collages would be created. Designs started to come to life and be looked at in a different way. The rules of modernism had gone and a freedom of design had come into action. This caused mixed reactions but it was the next era to take off in the design world. Techniques would be mixed together and used together in one piece of art, the range of techniques brought a contrast to the design and helped it to work together. Designers believed that you did not have to just stick
to just one style and that you could switch from any one of them at any time and if the styles worked together in one piece then this is what they would do. Designs became striking, noticeable and bold, as more colours were used together making an image stand out grabbing the audiences attention, objects would be visualized in different ways and placed in odd places, causing controversial views. This era cause stirs and mixed reactions from the public as new techniques were tried and brought to the public’s eye. Some works of art were strange and people didn’t understand the meaning, this is what made people talk about it and made the pieces successful, the designs were not to everyone’s tastes. Styles were more busy, the rule of space was left behind, items and images were overlapped and repeated. By using different techniques in one image caused an overcrowded effect in some images. Space was still used, but designs had more personality and a mood was set by the expression through colours and decorative mannerisms. Warhol
stated “How can you say one style is better than another? You ought to be able to be an Abstract Expressionist next week, or a Pop artist, or a realist, without feeling you’ve given up something.. I think that would be so great, to be able to change styles. And I think that’s what’s is going to happen, that’s going to be the whole new scene.” This demonstrates how postmodernnists believed that styles could be mixed and you could be a designer and use many different styles in design, that you do not have to stick to just one. It shows how they wanted to push for new ideas, and try out new techniques to create fresh designs. I have being inspired by the postmodern art movement because of its bold, striking and controversial ideas, I like how they think out side the box and push for extreme designs. These artists were not afraid of the public’s reactions and wanted to change the worlds way of thinking. I think this design era created better ways of thinking and improved advertising largely across the world. It is my preferred era due to its experiments and boldness.