FLUX WEBZINE ISSUE 3, 17 AUGUST 2012
Editors Ben Smith Michelle Stark Jeremy Swanborough
Production Coordinator Ben Smith
Magazine Design Ben Smith
Submissions We encourage Brisbane-based readers to submit suitable artwork for consideration by Flux Collective. If you wish to submit artwork, please contact Flux Collective at mail@fluxcollective.com
Creative Director Michelle Stark
Digital Manager Jeremy Swanborough
Contributors Ben Smith Michelle Stark Jeremy Swanborough Neisha Phillips Julia van Hameren
Special Thanks To Neisha Phillips
Cover Design Jess Mengel
Typefaces PT Sans Pro Regular Catorze 27 Style 1 Book
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GUEST DESIGNER
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DIGITAL ART
TYPOGRAPHY
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DESIGNER PROFILE
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5 -15 14
ILLUSTRATION
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EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
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Hi Readers, The “Zone”. It’s a beautiful place. We’ve all been there – that state of consciousness where great design seems to flow so easily, and ideas jump around in your head like popping corn. Inspiration abounds and awesomeness results from little effort. A beautiful place indeed…But it’s not a place where we can reside all the time, and the flow we once enjoyed inevitably becomes blocked, bringing us to that big brick wall we refer to as Designer’s Block. Fear not Flux readers, it happens to all of us (or so I’ve been told). And for what it’s worth, I’ve done some research and am presenting to you some tips to help break through that big brick wall, and emerge on the other side ready to tackle design briefs with renewed spirit and confidence. 1. Step away from the computer. Seriously – step away. I don’t mean >Hide Illustrator, or jumping on Facebook, or trolling through the Internet for inspiration. I mean get up and walk away. It doesn’t mean you have to stop working – pick up a pencil and some paper, create some physical mock-ups, dust off the X-Acto knife and design with your hands. It can work wonders. A cup of tea outside in the sun can also pay positive creative dividends.
2. Don’t search for inspiration by looking at Design Blogs. I have imposed a personal bar on Design Blogs. They can provide some beautiful eye candy, but many successful designers believe that when faced with a challenging brief, looking at current design work can sometimes limit your ability to generate new and clientappropriate ideas. 3. Change of scenery It’s amazing what a simple change of surroundings can do to stimulate ideas. Something as simple as changing your route to work or uni can shed a whole new light on your current design work. You may see a different sign, some new architecture you’ve never noticed, or a woman’s fluorescent yellow heels, and this may be the small spark you need to ignite the creativity you thought had deserted you. 4. Give yourself free time. Free time is possibly one of the best ways to combat Designer’s Block. Unfortunately it is also the one thing many of us do not have a lot of. But free time doesn’t have to be elusive. Try taking a 30-minute walk, cook your favourite dessert, play with your pet (French Bulldogs highly recommended!), watch some dodgy television. Taking as little as half an hour out of your busy day can be a solid investment in your prolonged creativity.
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DESIGNER PROFILE
NEISHA PHILLIPS creative director at creative emporium
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Neisha Phillips, founder and Creative Director at boutique Brisbane studio Creative Emporium, makes the world a more beautiful place. That sounds like a bold statement, but when you see the result of her expertise in design and Letterpress printing, you are sure to agree. A visit to Creative Emporium makes Letterpress lovers drool. The workspace is covered in stunning tactile designs, vintage printing accessories, and the odd sausage dog motif. Neisha is passionate about sharing ideas and knowledge with clients and peers, and shares a little about herself here for you. What was your first design job? Working in a little print shop on the Sunshine Coast during my last year of uni. It was voluntary work experience and I learnt a lot about production, printing and specialty print finishes. This was my first introduction to the Heidelberg Platen which was at that time used for die cutting and invoice numbering rather than letterpress. What is your career highlight so far?
Starting my own business and watching it grow gives me great satisfaction.
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DESIGNER PROFILE
Who or what inspires you? Many things inspire me! Something new gets filed away in my mind each day when I read design blogs or attend an industry event. I have always loved art, namely Michelangelo and Picasso and even drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. I collect old books and random bits of old paper and posters etc so I find that if I am stuck for some inspiration I am often pouring over them to freshen up my mind. I found an old Brisbane Railways tram ticket that inspired my business card design and a 1940s engineering book of hydraulic plans and other such drawings, along with the letterpress, inspired the direction of the Creative Emporium branding. What is your dream job? Working for myself and running my own studio.. Oh yeah that’s right I am already doing that!! Hmm, next dream job.. not sure, after-all, what could beat graphic design and letterpress! Do you have any advice for juniors? Work and study hard, pay attention to the small details, spell check and look for work experience to build on your skills and gain practical experience outside of study hours. Importantly, don’t be afraid to ask questions when you are stuck, you are learning and your teachers, bosses or industry mentors are there to help!
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a selection of images from creative emporium
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DESIGNER PROFILE
a selection of creative emporium prints designed by various local designers
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we asked neisha... SCREEN or PRINT
of course! silly
question!
PEN or MOUSE TEA or COFFEE SUMMER or WINTER
loads of coffee! n! ...sailing seaso
EARLY BIRD or NIGHT OWL ...neutral SERIF or SANS-SERIF THE MEDIUM or THE MESSAGE GRID or NO GRID NEVILLE BRODY or MILTON GLASER UNI or INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE WORK TO LIVE or LIVE TO WORK
n the two pt line betwee 5 .2 e n fi a is line there r yourself the fo rk o w u yo here, when lurred! seems to get b
TUMBLR or PINTEREST fopinllotewreusts!.com/creatvemporium 11
TYPOGRAPHY
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Inspired by retro signwriting and sketchbooks, Two-B is an imperfect modern slab serif whose concept and development occurred using a 2B pencil and quad-ruled exercise book. Designing this typeface brought back the joys of scribbling playfully as a kid, and this shows in elements of Two-B such as uneven slabs, the odd wobbly line and restrained irregular alignment. To clean up the typeface, and prepare for digital use, exercise book pages were scanned, put into Illustrator and traced over with a graphics tablet. The letterforms were then placed in Fontlab Studio 5 to program the kerning and prepare for final export. Two-B is strong and classic, but also childishly charming. It is suitable for use wherever you need to inject a sense of subtle playfulness.
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ILLUSTRATION
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Illustration to me has always been about attention to detail, hiding a meaning in plain site and telling a story. Surprisingly I always find myself telling my own story in some way. Each time I get motivated and inspired to create something, the same process happens even if I go about it differently. This time though I set out to do a surrealist painting about clouds and dreaming. I sketched out some thumbnails but ended up finalizing a self portrait. Not only that, but I felt the need to leave the photoshop brush out. I almost never go for a minimalist style, and I definitely never get the desire to do a self portrait, but this process has taught me a lot about myself and the art direction I have been drawn to as of late. The thing is that I don’t need a complicated illustration to communicate an idea or story. I just need the desire to continue to communicate those ideas and narratives and let the style sort itself out. Hopefully I will continue to develop and explore other styles, while I try to find that ever elusive signature style.
- J*
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DIGITAL ART
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Love. Death. Despair & Ecstasy. This design is one of somewhat mixed messages as it portrays the co-existence of various emotions. Ultimately, the various elements included simultaneously unify the design and create some contrast within the design itself. From the very first concept I knew that I wanted to include a lot of symbolic elements within this design. Nevertheless it was still important that the symbology behind these elements was subtle enough that people could still develop their own interpretation and meaning. Finally, the creation of this design involved designing each of the individual elements, arranging them into a visually appealing composition and then adding the finishing touches to the design by overlaying some self-made textures.
- B.
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GUEST DESIGNER
julia van hameren Currently in her final year of a Bachelor of Creative Media (Graphic Design) Julia enjoys swooning over luxurious stationary designs and paper craft. Although she has a passion for graphic design, Julia’s ultimate goal is to design wedding stationary or be a children’s book illustrator. Her first greatest achievement in design was winning a contest at high school where her creation became the logo and t-shirt design of the school play. When she isn’t working or studying Julia loves anything crafty; scrapbooking, embroidery, sewing, quilting, painting and anything DIY, she does it all. The rest of the time she loves to spend playing board games with family and friends.
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GUEST DESIGNER
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we asked julia... SCREEN or PRINT TEA or COFFEE EARLY BIRD or NIGHT OWL SERIF or SANS-SERIF NEVILLE BRODY or MILTON GLASER TUMBLR or PINTEREST
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next issue... 31 AUGUST 2012
featuring ... another exciting designer profile :::: new branding design :::: new illustration :::: new digital art :::: & guest designer