Flux Webzine | Issue #8 by Flux Collective

FLUX WEBZINE ISSUE 8, 26 OCTOBER 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 Dani Hunt Julian Hutton

Special Thanks To Dani Hunt

Cover Design Tia Kania Alisha

Typefaces PT Sans Pro Regular Catorze 27 Style 1 Book

Facebook www.facebook.com/fluxcollective

Twitter www.twitter.com/flux_collective

GUEST DESIGNER

1 -2 18

-17 16

DIGITAL ART

BRANDING

-13 12

DESIGNER PROFILE

11 6-

5 -15 14

ILLUSTRATION

EDITORIAL

Hi Readers, I read a really interesting study in the Psychology of Music Journal recently that looked at the effect of music on work performance. Data was collected from 56 software designers in Canada over a period of five weeks. The overall findings were that music enhanced one’s feelings of wellbeing, their ability to act positively in their environment, and their qualityof-work. Narrative responses also revealed that music enhanced ‘perception on design’ while working. All three members of Flux Collective listen to music regularly while we work, and we thought it might be nice to share our current ‘Tunes to design to” playlists.

mish’s top 5 albums Born to Die

Kylie Minogue Kylie Minogue

David Byrne & St. Vincen

Two Suns

Bat for Lashes

Sharing Space Cog

it Everyone Else is Doing We n’t Ca y Wh So The Cranberries

The Abbey Road Se

Aphrodite

Lana Del Ray

Love This Giant

ben’s top 5 albums Born to Die

Lana Del Ray

Gilgamesh

Gyspy & the Cat

Magic Hour

Scissor Sisters

ssions

jeremy’s top 5 albums e An Awesome Wav Alt-J

De-loused in the

Comatorium

The Mars Volta

Coexist The xx

re, Take Care

Take Care, Take Ca Explosions in the

Sky

The Temper Trap The Temper Trap

No. 2. il 20 05, Vol 33 pr A , ic us M of *P sych ology

DESIGNER PROFILE

DANI HUNT Dani Hunt is a digital artist and designer with an enchanted, whimsical and geometric approach to her work. This might sound like an odd mix, but the end result is fresh and funky artwork that captures the viewer’s imagination, taking them on a visual adventure that’s anything but typical. Founder of creative agency Neverland Studio (neverlandstudio.com.au), Dani spends her days converting big ideas into exciting graphics and creating bold artistic prints. Prior to launching her own creative platform, Dani honed her style designing for the music and fashion scenes, before taking her work overseas. Basing herself out of London and then Amsterdam, Dani travelled the globe to expand her skillset and soak up inspiration from a variety of unique cultures, returning to Australia with a renewed passion for all things design and texture. Born to an overly artistic and slightly stir-crazy mother who had her gluing, stitching, drawing and painting from the moment she left the womb, Dani has always lived in the creative realm and as the years have passed, her passion for all things ‘art’ has only evolved further.

What was your first design job? My very first industry gig was as a junior designer at a local advertising agency. I’d just graduated and was really eager to dip my feet into the design world, but quickly realised corporate design just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t long before I began looking for a role with more opportunity for creativity and flair. Creating straightforward logos and doing text layout just didn’t inspire me – I love working with brands that are open to creative suggestion and want to make a big (arty) impression! What is your career highlight so far?

Designing for Luma Originals’ line of bespoke bicycle frames was definitely a highlight, as it brought with it the opportunity to mingle with some big names in the UK design scene and have my work featured alongside theirs. It was a great little high!

DESIGNER PROFILE

Who or what inspires you? Travel is my main source of inspiration; sights, sounds & experiences from across the globe all play a part in my work. I’m also hugely inspired by vintage design, fashion photography, geometry and the work and ideas of surrealist artists, such as Dali. What is your dream job? In my heart of hearts, I see myself as an artist, so my absolute dream would be to create commission pieces for big brands that value creativity. To have my original artwork adorning a huge billboard in the middle of Times Square... now that would be amazing! I’d love to be, ‘on the books’ of a creative agency such as The Jackie Winter Group, or Just Another Agency… that’s the goal! Do you have any advice for juniors? Absolutely! Define your individual style as much as possible, then fill your portfolio with projects that flaunt it!

a selection of daniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s designs

DESIGNER PROFILE

we asked dani... SCREEN or PRINT PEN or MOUSE TEA or COFFEE SUMMER or WINTER EARLY BIRD or NIGHT OWL 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 TUMBLR or PINTEREST

BRANDING

It has been said that good designers are visual problem solvers. For this project I wanted to find a solution to my own ‘visual problem’ – creating a personal logo or identity that I didn’t tire of quickly, that would give me the flexibility to change my style if and when I felt the need (which I must admit is quite often). To resolve this issue, I ended up developing a series of designs that can be made into rubber stamps, and stamped onto a good quality stock for business cards, or used on other collateral such as website banners, notepads and other appropriate items. When used as a Business Card series, the cards would be traditionally printed with name and details (in a simple black Humanist typeface), allowing for the surrounding artwork to be alternated and stamped in varying colours. This means that I can now customise my business cards to suit my current mood, different clients, or colour trends. It will also allow flexibility in my overall brand aesthetic. And this suits me perfectly. If I tire of these designs, it is much more affordable to have a new stamp made up than arranging for a new print run! If this sort of idea suits you as well, feel free to use the concept.

ILLUSTRATION

Every artist, whether they are audial or visual, is continuously learning from their environment. Inspired from their experience of the world around them. All great art and music owes its origins to these references. If H. R. Giger didn’t observe the lizard, leopard and a BMW, we would not have the multi-award winning Sci-fi film ‘Alien’. There is no shame in using references, in fact it’s the best way to learn, from observing. No one just wakes up one day and creates something amazing. We draw our creativity from what is available to us. All that we see, hear and experience, influences our creativity. It molds us and our art, making it as unique as our experience of this amazing world. We just need to be willing to be brave and adventurous enough to explore it.

- J*

DIGITAL ART

This issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital art piece began with my desire to create a type based design - irrespective of the fact I would be dabbling outside of my core skill set and into the realm of typography. As you should be aware the world is full of amazing, intricate typography that has set a very high standard for all typographical designs. Consequently, I wanted to keep the design simple and minimalistic - aka. something achievable! However, I also wanted the piece to be thought provoking, to have more depth than design, more substance than style and yet still allow the viewer to develop their own thoughts about the quote. Hopefully you enjoy this piece and spend some time pondering what it means to you.

- B.

GUEST DESIGNER

julian hutton Julian Hutton moved from Toowoomba to Brisbane in mid 2009 to study Graphic Design at SBIT. After graduating in mid 2011 he began work as a freelancer finding work in a variety of mediums. At the beginning of 2012, Julian co-founded The Meander Journal, an online arts and culture publication featuring a range of people from all over the globe. Currently heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s working full time as a graphic designer at Perle Creative in Red Hill and runs The Meander Journal in his spare time. Julian has a fascination with typography, photography and the written word. He believes in creating clear, concise communicative design and draws upon other creative practices for inspiration such as fine art, architecture and film.

GUEST DESIGNER

we asked julian SCREEN or PRINT PEN or MOUSE TEA or COFFEE EARLY BIRD or NIGHT OWL SERIF or SANS-SERIF

...I need both in my life!

TUMBLR or PINTEREST

like this webzine? then please head to

indiegogo.com/fluxwebzine to help us continue

next issue... 9 NOVEMBER 2012

featuring ... another designer profile :::: poster design :::: new illustration :::: brand new digital art :::: & another emerging guest designer