CTION
COLLECTION COLLECTIONS 2017/2018
2017/2018
CONTENTS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
INTRODUCTION WEEKLY CASE STUDIE LONDON ARCHITETURE ARTEFACT 2018 TYPE WORLD MARKET READY MICROSOFT SURFACE STUDIO WORKSHOPS CRITICAL AND CONTEXTUAL STUDIES EXHIBITONS, TALKS AND VISITS
COLLECTIONS CREATIVE INDUSTRY PRACTICE LEVEL 5 HANNAH REID
Introduction Collections 2017/2018
Hannah Reid. Graphic Design Student. The Cass Art School.
Introduction I am currently a prospective graphic designer studying at The Cass School of Art. This book is a collection of my work throughout my second year of study. It contains a varied collection of the work I have completed throughout the year. The modules included are Creative Industry Practice, Design Studio; Design Futures, Critical and Contextual Studies and a Collection of Other Case Studies of past and current practitioners as well as including workshops from throughout the year.
About The Module
Creative Industry Practice is a core module within the second and third year of the Graphic Design and Illustration courses within the Cass School of Art. This module consists of multiple different variants that are intended to allow us as designers to gain experience and an understanding of working within a professional creative industry. The projects that we are asked to complete through the briefs allow us as perspective designers to understand the different disciplinary and creative skills to develop a professional understanding of creative fields. The work also allows us to gain confidence that will allow us to be able to work within a professional environment after graduating. This module allows us as practitioners to understand the balance between an in-depth understanding of imagination and creation as well as critical judgment that allows us to be able to create and produce products that can be used and sold within the world. Working within a team is a huge part of this module as 50% of our end of year grade is based off this work. The remaining 50% is through independant work.
This module is broken down into three different briefs. The first project is a group project named “Market Ready”. Within this brief we are asked as a collective group to produce a product to pitch to Accelerator, if chosen this product would go on to sell at the university Christmas market. This brief holds 25% of our final year grade. The second brief is “Collections”. This brief is individually created and graded. This brief asks us to create a portfolio book of all our year’s work called ‘Collections”. This breif hold 50% of our overall grade for this module. The third and final brief is called “Microsoft Surface” this brief was presented to us with the option of working individually or within a group. I chose to work within a group, the brief asked us to create a short film for Microsoft Surface. This was a piece of advertisement to promote the product. This brief holds 25% of our final grade for the year.
Thoughts of The Week Case Studies Collections Brief 2017/2018
Throughout the collection brief each week we were asked to complete a case study on a variety of different practitioners within the industry as well as different techniques and practices. Throughout this section I will take you through a selection of different case studies that I produced. I will be discussing how they inspire and contribute towards my own practice.
KATE MOROSS
Kate Moross is one of the most sought after award winning illustrator of our generation. Mororss is an illustrator, art director and designer. Moross has one of the most complex and intriguing mind within illustration and produces some amazing graphics and typeface. Kate Moross is an inspiration to those aspiring to be within the creative industry. Kate Moross’s style of working is through the use of vibrant bold colours and graphics, predominant work in the selective fields of music videos, textiles, murals, fashion, identities and magazine covers. All her work has a very distinct style that is appealing to many others within the creative industry, she is a hugely sought after creator with a high demand of companies wanting to collaborate with her.
Figure 1. Collaberation with Jenue (Kate Moross, 2018)
Kate Moross has collaborated with some huge clients such as, Park Life, TFL, Innocent Smoothies and many more. Her designs and imaginative creativity uses bold bring colours, that grab the attention of viewers. Not only is her work bold but it has certain levels of intensity regarding the design. The majority of her work is described as outlandish.
Figure 2. Old Records (Kate Moross, 2018)
Figure 3. ParkLife (Kate Moross, 2018)
ALAN FLETCHER
Alan Gerard Fletcher is a highly regarded British graphic designer and the founder of Fletcher/Forbes/Gill in the 1960’s. His visual style is a representation of his personality with very high spirited and witty designs. His main collection of renowned work was post war and celebrated the connection between European tradition with glimpses of North American pop culture. He was considered to be the person who linked commercial practice with creative practice, making a path for graphic designers across the world.
The reason I found this case study vital in my own practice was to do with his work with typeface. I feel that typeface is the backbone to many of the greatest graphic designs, the visual elements are not only beautifully designed but eye catching and interactive with the viewer. Alan Fletcher incorporated different textures as medias within his typeface and glyphs to create a different dimension and interactive quality. Within this case study we were to look into his book ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’. This book is a hugely renowned book within the creative industry because it asks people to think about the connection between the works of the hand, mind and eye. The book makes people think about visual awareness, how it works and what we can enjoy and inspirer to create visually.
The book holds a lot of humour, personally I feel that not only is it about the exploration of visual communication but it is also a study about the events and journey of his own career of being a visual communicator. It is an uplifting book that motivate and inspires all.
Figure 4. The Art of Looking Sideways (Filter Blog, 2018)
MASSIMO VIGNELLI Massime Vignelly is a designer from Italy that has worked in a huge array of different spreads of design from furniture to public signage. Vignellis main design style was modernist and focused on keeping things precise and resented clutter and unnecessary material, therefore the majority of his designs were minimalistic and modern. The main concept of Massimo Vigellis work that I admired was the use of his fonts, he continually used the Helvetica font which is a hugely known font used in the day to day lives of many. However, within saying this his use of this font within his designs brought it a new lease of life, he was able to create inspiring pieces of visual communication throughout his work but knowing how his use of design elements would compliment the font and their effectiveness.
Figure 6. Biblioteca Sansoni. Design Culture (2013).
Figure 5. New York Subway Map. (Designs In History, 2015)
IMAGE REFERENCES Images taken from designers websites.
Figure 1. Collaboration with Jenue Kate Moross (2018). Collaboration with
Jenue. [image] Available at: http://www. katemoross.com/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Figure 2. Old Records Kate Moross (2018). Old Records. [image] Available at: http://www.katemoross.com/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Figure 3. Parklife Kate Moross (2018). ParkLife. [image] Available at: http://www.katemoross.com/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Figure 4. The Art of Looking Sideways. Filter Blog (2018). The Art of Looking Sideways. [image] Available at: https:// www.artsthread.com/blog/mind-overmatter-alan-fletcher-kemistr/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Figure 5. New York City Subway Map Design is History (2015). New York City Subway Map. [image] Available at: http:// www.designishistory.com/1960/massimovignelli/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Figure 6. Biblioteca Sansoni Design Culture (2013). Biblioteca Sansoni. [image] Available at: http://www. designculture.it/interview/massimovignelli.html [Accessed 29 Apr. 2018].
London Architecture Studio project 1 2017/2018
London Architecture is the first brief that we were to complete within our Studio: Design Futures. Within the brief we were asked to build a collection of outcomes to create an abstract exploration of London informed by representational investigation. The main freedom of this brief was due to the abstract nature.
BRIEFING London Architecture brief asked us to explore, observe and experiment in a representational to abstract manner. We had to observe our surroundings and objects within London, we were set boundries for the different criteria to be included within the publication:
Museums and Gallaries People and Culture Automobiles in motion Sounds of the Streets Cafes and smells Nature within the Day Lights at Night Within our work we had to base our abstract representations around these seven topics. This was the most interesting piece of the breif as we had to decipher and interpret the different areas within these specific topics. The brief itself was for us to complete a book named ‘London Archiecture’ which was well considered and showed a visually apealing story about London. The design guidelines within this book was broad, and we could use any style or
technique that we, as aspiring practitioners, feel would develop our understanding and knowledge of our own expanding styles. We were provided with an ample supply of workshops and lessons which we used to construst our book to add to our portfolio.
The main teaching that our lecturer wished us to incorporate fully was being able to research into specific areas of the brief and being able to problem solve, whilst expanding our understanding of different areas in which we could persue within Graphic Design in the future. Within creating a book we had to look into key features such as; layout, typography, texture, colour, visual identity and motion.
The first stages of research that I took into consideration when i was completing this brief was to generically look at the seven main aspects that needed to be covered. I worked in a very regimented way and only researched into those specific topics. Now looking back on the final outcomes that I have completed I feel that i could have worked in a more strategical way as this very well might have limited my abilities in expanding research. Each topic that I looked into I started with simple pen and pencil sketches to understand the lining and expressions of the objects. After completing the simple sketches I then begin to disect the different of the objects or scenes to understand what certain areas that I think I would be able to adapt and
evolve into an abstract book. Then my understanding of these were broken down into easy workable areas.
RESEARCH
Within the research, I did not just look into the different aspects of the brief that we had to cover but I also looked into different techniques of creating visual communication. Within the brief we were given a list of different mark making techniques that we can use to visually display the different outcomes: Point or Mark Line Shape and Form Value Space Texture These are not what we were limited to using, we also were able to adapt and expand on these suggestions. I mainly focused on the texture, line and shape as these were the areas in which I felt I would be able to create many different abstract outcomes with. With the selection I mainly focused on I used multiple different types of techniques to create these aspects; photography, Photoshop, Illustrator and hand drawn illustrations with different utensils. This was a huge help, with my understanding and development within this brief I gave myself the availability to focus and make a detailed case study of the brief.
DEVELOPMENT
The development stages of this brief were the most influencing factor to its completion to the highest standards. I completed a lot of different work for each outcome through the different uses of media and techniques I used.
Within each stage of development that I carried through from all the initial research my main aim was to keep the original ideas and concepts within the themes in order for there to be a narrative of the intentions of my completed outcomes.
OUTCOMES These are the completed outcomes for this brief. As you can clearly see, all of the development and research I conducted led to their final finished outcomes. Within researching into different types of abstract publications I went for a simplistic, elegant modern design which has lead to the final product being minimalistic.
Aftifact 3018 Studio Project 2 2017/2018
Artifact 3018 is the second brief within Design Futures. Within this breif we were asked to recreate an artifact from The British Museums: A History of the World in 100 Objects and recreate it to be within a museum display in 3018. This brief allowed us to explore futurism within our work. We were able to explore any possibility of the future because we were making the future how we wanted it to be.
BRIEFING
Within this display there was a huge variety of objects from across the world. I was really interested in the objects within the Asian region, they all hold such indepth back stories of why they were used and their traditions.
Artefacts 3018, this brief was the second brief in Design Futures. At the start we had to recreate an artefact from the British Museum: A History of the World in 100 objects, and recreate it into a object that would be used throughout the years up until 3018, where the recreated artefact would be on display within a museum. This brief gave us as perspective graphic designers freedom to use and create an object that will be used in the future with our ideas and views within our own creative abilities. There was a huge focus on futuristic styles within this brief which meant that there was a vast amount of creativity because the future is unknown. We know certain areas and genres of what the future could be like however, this isn’t a certainty. The limitations of this brief was through the restrictions of recreating artefacts from the British Museums A History of the World in 100.
RESEARCH
The object that I chose to remodel for this brief was of the Indus Seal. This seal was created and used by the Indus civilisation, they are one of the olds and most prolific civilisations in history. The reason I chose this object within the display was due to its purpose of being a symbol of trade as it was was the first symbol used for identification. I also chose this object due to the history of the Indus civilisation and its language.
I discovered that these animals where used as the symbol on the seal as a display of visual communication. I recreated the ideology of this by using modern and old stamping methods.
The final conclusion of the research was that I wanted to recreate the object into something that was used as a form of communication. The reasoning behind this was because the Indus language has not yet being deciphered, even though this has not yet happened we still see so many examples of the symbols within different languages still used to this day. As you can see I did my own study within the research into typeface and fonts that use a lot of symbols within their style and layout. Within this research I was hugely interested in creating my own font for this brief.
FURTHER RESEARCH
The research that I conducted into forms of modern technology led me into looking into different forms of microchips. Here are my intial stages of designing a modern micro chip that could be used within my final outcomes.
NARRATIVE The narrative was a huge catalyst for the development of my progress within this brief. The narrative is all based off the research I conducted within the first few weeks. Alot of my research took place through futuristic movies and books, however the main research that I used within creating this narrative was the use in which the way our world is being damaged in this current day. Within the next few years the constant use of toxic chemicals and greenhouse gasses we are producing within our everyday lives are already damaging the planet that we are living on. Therefore, I wanted to use this to create a narrative. Within the next few years we are going to see a huge increase in the drastic nature of the weather and atmosphere, this is going to make it increasingly hard for us as human beings as well as animals and plant life to live. The stubborn nature of the human race on our planet means that we are not going attempt to improve the way the planet functions, we are going to slowly destroy it. Within this time period there have been huge breakthroughs within learning about new planets within different solar systems, as well as the use of space travel which has rapidly improved and has become common and easier.
This therefore means with the exploration of new planets within solar systems there have been many different planets that we have found to be habitable, and with this information comes the narrative of this brief. With the weather being so intense animals and crops will no longer be able to grow and water supplies will slowly deteriorate, making Earth inhabitable. With the advancements of space travel and the knowledge of other planets being habitable, corporate companies saw this as a money-making scheme. They developed space travel to the point where they can transport people from one planet to another to live on and begin a new civilisation. With this being said these are a companies that want to make money so only the wealthiest of people were able to afford these tickets. This meant that only a select few people from across the world could afford to make this journey and be that priority. Within the stages of developing this enterprise, social scientists created a list of possible social issues that could occur on this journey and adapting to new life on another planet. Language was the largest of these social issues.
Technical advancements meant that creating an object to alter and change our perception and understanding of language was not an issue. The information gathered from researching into thousands of years of archaic languages and scrolls from ancient civilisations meant that using one of the original first known languages was the most reasonable conclusion. The scientists decided that using and interpreting the Indus language into a microchip would sort this social issue The microchips design meant that it would be placed around the vocal cords with vibrating sensors that would manipulate the shapes and movement created by the cords in order to speak. This will change the tone and words spoken. The microchip would have sensors connecting to the brain which would in turn be placed in the areas of the brain that corresponded to understand and the processing of sound and speaking. The microchips would allow
the user to understand the language produced by the microchip from other people using the microchip and in turn themselves. The chip’s sensors placed in the brain allow the microchips spoken language to then be reproduced into the person’s brain into their own natural language so it is easily understandable. This microchip was created in order for no-one to have to learn and understand a new language of people on board the ship. The chip not only diminishes the idea of no one being understood, it also has no impact on how people live their lives, they are essentially understanding their natural language from earth and speaking it, but the microchip does all the work by translating the Indus language and relaying it in the brain to normal spoken words. The microchip placement was made mandatory for any passengers within the ship.
Within this brief there was a lot of development needed in order to recreate an object and bring it to life as though it had already been invented. Within my development I carried out in-depth studies into the way the brain understands and interprets sound, speech and language as well as how the throat works and how we produce sound through the vocal cords. I spent a lot of time working on the idea until I came to my conclusion, which was to create the ‘Indus Chip’.
DEVELOPMENT Within the development of the aesthetics of the ‘Indus Chip’ in order for it to be as realistic as possible as well as functional, I had to look into the nature of how modern day microchips themselves were used. These aesthetics did not just occur within this stage of my research, I had to look into the different ways microchips can vibrate and look. With the way that technology is expanding rapidly in the 21st century there could be many uses for such a microchip within medicine and other industries. However, nothing to the dramatic extent of the ‘Indus Chip’ itself.
OUTCOMES
The final outcomes we were asked to complete within this brief was to create a representational object that would be displayed within a museum in 3018 as well as accompanying items that would be exhibited with the object. The representational object I chose to display through this outcome was a graphic render of the ‘Indus Chip’ within the head of a human being.
The accompanying outcomes that I chose to represent my object with were through posters and holographic imagery of the ‘Indus Chip’ that could be displayed as advertisement for the exhibition.
A final outcome for the Artefact 3018 brief was to create a working app that is to be used along side the recreated artefact. Here is the opening page of my final outcome for the app. The main purpose for the app is to store data of conversations. Each conversation or function the microchip does is stored within the app on the phone. The app not only lets you look through conversations it also allows you to look at the maintenance and to keep an eye on the microchips functions.
Type World
Creative Industry Practice 2017/2018
The final brief to complete for our Design Studio: Design Futures is called Type World. Within this brief we were asked to create a typeface or series of individual glyphs relating to our Studio 2 project: Artefact 3018. This relation to the brief two allows us to create a clear visual language for our 3018 future.
BRIEFING
This brief was the final brief we were provided with within our design studio. This brief asked us to create a typeface or a series of glyphs relating to our previous brief: Artefacts 3018. We were asked to complete an illustration or graphic illustration from A-Z and 0-9. The factors relating to the second project are through visual element to let us, as designers, create a visual language for our world in 3018. Not only that but it teaches us the in-depth thinking into typeface and glyphs.
RESEARCH
The first stages of research that I went into were through understanding the basic knowledge of typeface, how they are formed, and what certain elements of letters divide them into a font family.
Through this research I understood the different basic knowledge of typeface, this allowed me to develop my own thoughts an opinions of what typeface I wish to pursue. This then led me down the road of relating this typeface back to my previous brief, the whole ethos and style of my 3018 artefact was simplistic, minimalistic, elegant and modern. This therefore led me to look into a lot of types surrounding Helvetica.
DEVELOPMENT
The development within this project not only started from looking into different types of fonts but also the illustrative value of the font. My thought process began with something visual involving the nervous system due to its connection with my previous brief and how the microchip linked from the brain to the throat. Aesthetically, I wasnt happy with the development of the microchip and it wasn’t to the highest standards after I made different variations around the same idea. After I decided that I should change the way I look at this brief I started to look at my previous brief and highlight the artistic style and messages through my work. This lead me to the conclusion that I should work with straight line simplistic typeface. Its clean, elegant and sophisticated and portrays the futuristic style that created the narrative behind my rendition of 3018.
OUTCOMES The final outcomes are viewed here. They are a simplistic elegant modern take on Helvetica font. Within the brief we were allowed to display the glyphs in whichever way we wanted. Whether that be through graphic renders, illustrative drawings, or with animations. I experimented with each of these, however what I was really interested in was bringing in a 3D motion image of the glyphs. The majority of the typeface held the same attributes, and the way in which I displayed them was through different renders of Riso printing to animations to basic line drawings.
Market Ready Creative Industry Practice 2017/2018
Market Ready is the first brief that we were presented with in Creative Industry Practice. Within this booklet I will be personally taking you through the different stages of the creation process that ‘Hypno’ the design collective that I was involved in creating. This booklet will show you the Research, Development and Final outcomes that hypno Studios prodcuded and presented within this brief.
BREIFING Market Ready is a brief that was created through the module of Creative Industry Practice. This module was part of our year two studies as it gives us, as perspective graphic designers, the ability to understand and work in a professional environment. This brief was created and graded as 25% of our overall grade throughout the year. The aim of the brief was for a group of four to five students to develop a proposal for a product to sell to prospective students for London Metropolitan University. As a collective group we had to develop and create a collective design agency and brand. In the midst of creating the design collective we also had to develop and gather information regarding our target audience and make sure the product was appropriate to sell and that there was a need and want to sell this product. The main aspect of this brief was to create a promotional plan and to devlop and propose a display for the market which then we were to present to the Student Enterprise team at Accelerator.
The brief itself had very specific requirments that we were asked to complete. Product Designs: Your team’s designs for products (which could be printed postcards, posters, art prints, etc) Presented as a web shop page (eg. Society6.com) or prototype visualisation. Plans and costings: How you will get your products batch-made and what price you will sell your products at? Physical prototype samples? (advised but optional) Stall Display: Visuals of how your products will be displayed on the market day. Promotion: A plan of how you will promote your group, its work and the event.
The final outcome that Hypno Studios presented to The Accelerator panel was a product named ‘The Shoulder Sling Bag’. This product was a bag thatwas strapped infront of your chest and held all your vital essentials, mainly things such as Oyster cards, mobile phones and credit cards. This decision was reached on the basis that these are some of the main items that students often lose.
The logo development was one of the largest challanges that we faced as a group. It took a lot of groupwork and huge amounts of research until we felt comfortable enough with our logo idea and name.
RESEARCH
The financing of design studio was also the area of work that I focused on. The pricing and budgeting was a huge part of the creation of this object, as it was vital for the functionality and types of material we could purchase. We were giving a theoretical budget of ÂŁ250, which was provided by Accelorator. This budget had to include any possible expenditures including buying materials for the product as well as branding and promotion.
DEVELOPMENT The research area that I first mainly focussed on was the market that we were going to have to provide a product for. I created a questionnaire that was passed out to perspective and current students, specifically asking questions that would help us gather information on a product we would be able to create.
The research that I was mainly responsible for was into the different types of materials, production and manufacturing of the product. Firstly I personally started to break down the product into different sections in order to understand how it would be assembled. From then I started to develop into the different physical aspects of the product to work out what area could hold certain equipment and then onto the construction.
After this process was completed I started to research into the different types of materials that are needed for the bag to remain intact and fuctional as well as being able to withstand the weather. This was a vital point within the understanding and creation of the product as it allowed us to stick to our manifesto of keeping the bag functional as well as stylish.
FINAL These are the completed group outcomes presented to the Accelorator panel. These posters and buisness cards are the completed versions that we intended to advertise and promote our product.
OUTCOMES
This is the final outcome that I personally completed. This is the Prototype of the ‘Shoulder Sling Bag’. It was created by materials that are similar to the materials we would use if the product went into production. However, the materials were too expensive to buy in order to create a prototype.
Microsoft Surface Creative Industry Practice 2017/2018
The final brief to complete for Creative Industry Practice is called Microsoft Surface. This brief asks us to create a short film or films promoting Microsoft’s new product, Microsoft Surface.
BRIEFING
Within this final project we were presented with a brief Microsoft sent out for any interested creatives. We are only completing this brief for our final submission and not submitting to Microsoft. The brief asks us to develop and create a short film or films bringing the message of ‘infinite creative possibility’. The limitations of the film we are to submit are that they have to be a total of 1-2 minutes long and have the mission statement ‘we believe in what people make possible’. This brief can be completed as a group or individually. I have chosen to work within a group of 5 including myself. We decided to work within a group as we believed that each individual has a certain set of creative skills that will help us create a great submission for this brief.
RESEARCH
The research stages of this brief were vital in our understanding of tactics used within commercials for advertising. We watched a series of different adverts all promoting different products, from this research we decided that the way to capture the attention of the audience is through emotion.
After brainstorming within the group we decided that we wanted to create a live motion picture. However, within this brief there was restrictions.
DEVELOPMENT
Within the development stages we looked into multiple different ways in which we could portray a happy, uplifting emotion. We wanted to incorporate the idea and sense that everyone can be creative. So therefore we decided on this idea.
PROJECT PROPOSAL Our plan is to make sure that the narrative point gets across clearly. The meaning needs to be understood and relevant. The target audience is anyone and everyone that wants to use Microsoft Surface - giving people the chance to express their creativity. We don’t want it to be too obvious using the Microsoft brand and colours, but we want there to be a train of thought relating to the brand throughout the whole thing. We are going for a simple and minimalistic style, that creates an effective and uplifting atmosphere to entertain and grab the attention of the viewer. The scene will start off with four different scenarios with a person in a still, plain area (all white- white clothing background etc) with a dull/bored atmosphere/ expression. We want the people in each scene to differ from one another- e.g gender/age/ race Initial background noise will be the faint ticking of a clock- maybe footsteps. Out of nowhere, the quiet scene becomes chaos- chalk/paint bombs (alike to holi festival of colours) are thrown at the subject. Mood goes from dull to uplifting and music kicks in. Subject goes from straight faced to full of positive emotion. Filming- we want to play with tempo (maybe slow-mo/ stop motion) to capture the emotion and engage with the audience. The final scene will be an ending of all the colours merging together with the slogan ‘We Believe In What People Make Possible’ We expect this advert to last for 1 minute to 1 minute and 10 seconds.
OUTCOMES
Within one of our final outcome we had to produce a story board. This story board dictates how the advertisement will be produced and what sort of emotions will be captured. As well as the breakdown of the timing.
Image Referencing
Regarding Images provided from Microsoft about limitations. This information was provided to us through a Zipp file from Microsoft.
Studio Workshops Collections Brief 2017/2018
Within Creative Industry Practice in order to create this book Collections, we were provided with a variety of different workshops every week in order for us to learn about publication layout. Throughout this section of ‘Collections’ I will be briefly talking about a range of different workshops we completed in order to complete the final outcome of ‘Collections’.
This workshop was a vital part in the gathering of information in order to create this book. Alison Hurst a paper consultant come in from G.F Smiths which is a paper supplier and a print specialist. Hurst works with paper on a daily basis creating and adapting paper that is in demand and supplies The main aspect of this it. Within this workshop we were workshop which I felt influenced provided with an abundant array ofme the most was the different different kinds of books, booklets weights and uses of the paper. I and paper samples, not only that was being taught that you could she showed us the different tech- essentially create anything with niques for binding different types the use of different papers and of papers and different forms and textures. Publications do not uses of the books. Hurst talked us have to be simple hard back through all the different variecover and snow white paper ties of paper she supplied and holding information, you had the most common uses of these the availability to use multiple papers. different textured and coloured This was a very interesting work- paper within the same book shop as we, as students were able and it can still be visually to viably see and feel the different appealing. There are just weights, textures, gloss and shines techniques and rules you need that could be added to papers. to understand in order to create This allowed us to have a greater the different varieties of books understanding of what we could to a professional standard. achieve with the design of this The samples that she brought book, as we were able to under- in were a variety of different stand that the type and use of forms of artist pieces as well as the paper hugely effects the final editorial magazines. There was a visual and manual outcome of the huge variety of publications to creation of this book. look through and be inspired by.
G.F SMITH WORKSHOP
BOOK BINDING This workshop was a vital part of the Collections brief. The workshop was created in order for us to understand the different and practical reasons behind book binding. We were asked to bring in a specific set of materials in order for us to be able to experiment with different forms of binding books. In the session we were given different sheets with diagrams explaining the different ways in which we could bind books. These pieces of paper with diagrams gave us the opportunity to experiment and experience different techniques behind binding books. The main forms of binding that we progressed through within this session was through simple folding of the paper, as well as the opportunity of using string, glue and cutting of the paper.
PAPER, FLAT PLANS AND COVERS Creating flat plans was a huge part of this brief because is it a staple of how to create a publication. The learning and understanding of how to use and set up a flat plan was a vital part in progressing within this brief, as the publication would ununiformed if there was not a set lay out. We started of with the basics of learning spacing, layouts of texts and image boxes within simple A4 sheets of paper with boxing rids. We spent a lot of time within the workshop taking primary research from the library by photocopying and scanning in different layouts throughout a variety of different books. This gave us an explanation into how different books are laid out in different styles depending on the genre of book. Another part of this work shop meant that we were taught about the borders, grid plans, guttering and Margins. These are all vital parts of creating a book and understanding how to lay out these important guidelines, means the creation of the book will be uniform, precise and professional.
Regarding the images within this section, they were self taken within the studio workshop.
Critical and Contextual Studies Collections Brief 2017/2018
This module is a core module that we have had throughout the first and second year of studying at The Cass Art School. This module consists of our understanding of writing in a critical format. The aim and purpose of this is for us to prepare for our dissertation, not only that but also to ifluence our design practices and understand how and why they are used. We also gather a wider understanding of the morals and reasonings behind design.
GUY FAWKES MASKS On 9th of February 2015 Hacker subculture group Anonymous disables extremist social media accounts. The warning displayed by Anonymous was issued against the Islamic State (ISIS) Terror Group. The video was uploaded to YouTube where the protest group claimed that they have intentionally shut down the social media accounts of this terrorists group. The video was bombarded with views within seconds and circulated across all forms of social media but what was the image that the majority of the population saw as a result of this social media frenzy? A mask, the ‘Guy Fawkes Mask’. The video image displayed an obnoxious smile with huge glairing eyes as a visual symbol of the protest. The Guy Fawkes mask has been and still is worn throughout protests across the world to visually communicate a symbolic emblem of antiestablishment within protests. The origins and symbolism of this mask purely derives from the theory of rebellion and anonymity. The most common use of these masks within protests are through the activism group ‘Anonymous’. These masks have been worn and used throughout protests from the the end of the 18th Century to
the the current day and are still used to visually communicate antiestablishment sentiment. However, how has the wearing of this mask changed throughout history and are they still to this day visually communicating the same ethos as they did from the beginning? The masks still hold the same protest values of anti-establishment that Guy Fawkes had in the first form of protest that provoked the wearing of this mask to honor him. However, with the evolution of technology within our century, the way in which the mask is represented and used within the current day is completely different yet still holding the same ethos and core values.
Figure 1: 2013 Protest in India (The Dark Room (2013))
The main aspect that the mask represents within the culture of these protests is that the use of the masks allows the protesters to remain anonymous. Within the twenty first century there is a huge sense of discrimination towards people who present themselves for who they truly are, they feel that they are not able to live their full potential of life due to the fact that people will discriminate against them. The use of wearing masks such as these within protests are for those to remain anonymous, their face is covered so therefore no one knows who they are and no one can attack them in their day to day lives with the beliefs they hold. Within this hacking activist group there is a huge variety of people that support and work within the protests this therefore means that these people come from a huge variety of backgrounds from elite business men to day-to-day workers. However, with the use of the masks covering people’s identities this also creates a large amount of mass fear, this mass fear is created through the types of protests that are being held, many a protest can turn violent very
quickly when people hold such strong passionate feelings towards the topic in which they are protesting for. A great example of mass fear being created from the wearing of masks within protest is through ‘Occupy Wall Street Carnival’ within this protest there was a huge volume of people turning up wearing different forms of garments and masks, this therefore created a problem within the protest as there was a huge probability of violence. This then meant that within the first few days of the protest beginning there was a ban set on the wearing of masks and people were being arrested for wearing masks. “ This reached back to a midnineteenth century ban on masking to arrest occupiers wearing as little as a folded bandana on their forehead, leaving little doubt about their fear of carnival as a potent form…” (Tancons, C. (2011). ) Within this example of a ban being put in place within a protest to eliminate the threat of violence due to the face that the anonymity created from wearing the masks causes fear and caution, because no one knows who’s behind the mask or what they are capable of, they are anonymous.
In conclusion, the evolution of this mask being used as a visual symbol of communication within protests throughout different historical periods is the main indicator into why the masks popularity is ever increasing and evolving into todays culture. The visual aesthetic of the mask itself holds the largest symbolism. The mask was created to represent and honour Guy Fawkes for his beliefs. The remodelling and rebranding of the mask from the comic, means that the mask had a new platform of expressing the belief system of Guy Fawkes. The protestors use of the mask in protests was not only to hold a visual symbol which represented the protest group Anonymous, but also to stay anonymous as protestors. Hiding their identity gives the protestors a sense of comfort knowing they will not be discriminated against for their beliefs. The evolution of the use of the mask is mainly through the platform of social media. This allows the group
to have a global platform in which they can be activists and protest and visually represent the masks as an icon of their beliefs. The ‘Guy Fawkes’ masks are a huge form of visual communication using symbolism. The history behind the use of the mask allows there to be a cause and a reasoning behind the use of the mask. Not only does it visually symbolise the belief system behind the mask but it is evolving and getting used in different forms within protests, whether that be through physical protests or to the use of social media the mask visually communicates globally the symbolism behind the Anonymous protests.
Figure 2: Church of Scientology Protest (Standard (2009)) Figure 3: Guy Fawkes Mask (Blades And Bows (2018)) Figure 4 : Anonymous (Anonymous (2015))
WHO LIVES IN THESE STREETS? Introduction Milton Place and Georgie’s Road are parallel streets leading off of Holloway Road, London. These two streets are quiet, quaint residential areas that have a clean definitive contrasting in appearance, due to the architecture and residence. However what sort of community is formed within these building and how do they differ. History The earliest historical dates of Holloway road are from the early 14th century, the main street was originally built with the purpose of connecting the capital city with the rest of the country. Due to the purpose of this road being built over time settlements and communities were formed, which then created large areas of different styles of architecture and array of residence due to the times in which certain areas where built. The Area in which is focused on in this case study is of the streets of George’s Road and Milton Place. Both streets were formed within the same time period when settlements first developed in this area. These streets were built within the late Georgian period of 1830’s, not only did this time period influence the style and functionality of the living space but it also brought a lot of residence to the
area. Who live in these streets Within these buildings it is very apparent that there is an abundant variety of people which live here. Through primary and secondary research it is visible that within the area in which both streets reside, the average age of the residence is 3235 years of age (London.placeilive. com, 2017). Within the student accommodation on Eden Grove 100% of the residence living within the building are students between the ages of 18 - 30. Residence within Milton Place vary hugely in contrast, 30% individuals/couples above the age of 20, 45% are families, 20% are people above the age of 60 and 5% Students. With this evidence collected it is very apparent that everyone lives very separate and different lives, yet there is still a sense of community due to the fact that categorically they live together and there is common link between them.
A resident that lives within Milton place flats commented through an interview that ‘Although we all live very different lives we are still able to rely on each other, we live within meters of each other... There are new people coming in and out of this apartment block all the time, families, young graduates and pensioners, however there are always going to be the staple residence that have been living here for many years and they are always the most welcoming…. we have formed a collective, we respect each other and socialize even if it is brief” (Is there a sense of community in your building, 2017) This indicates as evidence that the residence in Milton Place are people who are familiar with each other, they have a formed a connection of community through the common ground of living within the same building. Although they may not have time to constantly be within each other’s lives, they are still able to communicate and associate with each other in order to live in harmony, henceforth creating a community. The research conducted was cut short as when the further research was being made into the residence who have been residing in the apartment blocks for the longest were not comfortable speaking on record. Within the student accommodation on Eden Grove it is a completely different sense of community. The whole building is consumed with young adults who have just recently left home from their parents, this therefore means that they have been thrown into a temporary community with complete strangers. Through an interview with a student who lives within the building, who wishes to remain anonymous, quoted that ‘I moved into this accommodation with the exception of making life long friends and it is what I
have done! I am flat mates and best friends with people who I would never usually associate with or meet if I were to not be living here’ (What is it like living here?, 2017) This sense of community created is a huge influencer in how students grow up to be adults although they are in the confines of living with all students, it gives them a base idea of what it is like to live in a community with common connections with different people and live within harmony. In comparison of the two different types of communities, it is apparent Milton Place is a block of flats that are housing such a varied amount of people, and Eden Grove is housing a very specific genre of people. Although they are both two different entities they still hold a sense of community with each other. They function as a community without fully being aware of this, they live on the same street use the same facilities of the shops and restaurants surrounding them, they pass each other on the street without recognition but within harmony of each other and as part of a community.
Figure 5. Unite Students Accommodation (Unite Students, 2016)
IMAGE REFERENCES Images taken from websites.
Figure 1: 2013 Protest in India:The Dark Room (2013). 2013 protest in India. [image] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=isch&q=guy+fawkes+mask+india+2011+protest&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjDy46N7KXZAhVpDsAKHT9HDPcQBQg7KAA&biw=1164&bih=660&dpr=2.2#imgrc=3PlLn2KzfnSKoM: [Accessed 8 Feb. 2018]. Figure 2: Church of Scientology Protest Standard (2009). Chursch of Scientology Protest. [image] Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/ news/london/the-million-mask-march-in-london-2017-who-are-anonymous-what-is-theevent-where-is-it-and-what-time-a3676061.html [Accessed 8 Feb. 2018]. Figure 3: Guy Fawkes Mask Blades And Bows (2018). Guy Fawkes Mask. [image] Available at: https://www.bladesandbows. co.uk/v-for-vendetta-guy-fawkes-anonymousmask-12579-p.asp [Accessed 8 Feb. 2018]. Figure 4 : Anonymous (2015). Anonymous. [image] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/31313610/hackers-anonymous-disable-extremist-social-media-accounts [Accessed 8 Feb. 2018]. Figure 5. Unite Students Accommodation, https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=unite+students+london+holloway+road&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwit9KiUc_XAhXrK8AKHeMNAqoQ_AUIDCgD&biw=1164&bih=660#imgrc=GSM6gDOy3vbP5M: Unite Students, London. (Unite Students, 2016) [accessed 10th November 2017]
Exhibitions, Talks, Visits Collections Brief 2017/2018
Throughout the year we had many oppportuinities to attend displays and galleries as well having the Hot House Talk. Within the university we had practitioners from many different studios come in and speak to us about their studos and their lines of work. All these diffferent opportunities that we were provided with have allowed us to develop and grow as aspiring practitioners and give us a better understanding of our line of work.
LONDON MITHRAEUN The trip to the London Mithraeum was a trip taken at the start of Studio Project 2: Artefact 3018. This trip was organised in order for us to understand the design and layout of a museum display. The London MIthraeum display is situated in the centre of London in Bank. This was a really creative area to hold the display because its one of the most modern and industrial areas of London so it set the scene of the futuristic brief. The exhibition displays a reconstruction of the Temple of Mithras, the ruins were discovered in 1954 by the archaeologist Professor W.F Grimes during the Blitz. The reason that this display was created was in order for people to be able to visit the ruins In the site in which it was found along London’s Lost River.
The vital part of this trip was to develop our understanding of the layout and design of the exhibition. Before even entering the exhibition you are walking through an industrially modern area of London that has a busy vibe and the exhibition is help in a very modern open room with a lot of empty space. The main part of the exhibition that I found to be in a futuristic style was the first lower level. This room was a huge open area where the walls were covered in constellations relating to the mythological figures. The only objects that were on display were four different pillars that had 3D printed archaeological findings onto crystal plastic. The only displays of information The focal point of the exhibition were provided on a touch screen was on the 2nd floor underground where you could navigate your where the reconstructed remains own way around the information by touch. This was a really were held. The production of modern exhibition that focused this display was mainly created on technology to produce the through the lighting and sound. You walk into a large black room displays. with the lights dimmed so there was little to no visibility, the lights were the main focus on creating an atmosphere and a modern feel to the exhibition of the artefact. This gave us a huge insight into the different ways we could present our own artefacts within our own brief about futuristic museum displays.
Mother Studio was a talk that was provided to us by the Hot House Talks. This was a very interesting talk to attend as the two representatives of the studio guided us through what they did and how they ended up working within Mother studio. Within the talk the designers took us through a few of the different brands that they worked for. A few of the brands were Nike, BBC Three and New York Fashion Week. They talked us through step by step the processes of creating these brand campaigns and explained to us how and what its like working with big clients, as well as working within a creative team of designers.
Figure 1. Niki Golf Club (Mother Design, 2018)
Figure 2. Sorry. Not Sorry (Mother Design, 2018)
They explained to us a specific project they worked on where they produced a set of animations, they informed us that none of them had worked in animation and it was a new concept. The designers took us through the journey of collaborating with different people within the industry and told us it was very common to collaborate with a wide group of designers as no one knows how to do everything. This talk was very informative because it gave us an idea about how these Design Studios work and the collaboration between different designers is a huge part of this industry. This gave me a piece of mind that not everyone knows how to do everything but the interaction between designers helps and informs them how to have a basic understanding of all genres of different designs as well as growing an interest.
MOTHER STUDIO Within the university they provide Hot house talks, these Talks are designed for us as students to have interaction with people within the creative industries. Many of the hot house talk presenters come from a variety of different creative practices, this allows us to understand how the professional working world functions. They are a great example of different opportunities that are provided to us within these industries. Mother Studio was a talk that was provided to us by the Hot House Talks. This was a very interesting talk to attend as the two representatives of the studio guided us through what they did and how they ended up working within Mother studio. Mother studio is an independent creative company that has the motivation to redefine every sense of the term creative branding. As a studio they believe that within the creative industry there is too much clutter around brands and their designs. They want to create agencies and brand identities that have a meaningful purpose and their intentions are original and unique.
Figure 3. AIGA (Mother Design, 2018)
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
The trip to the British Museum was held within the first semester of the year and was in relation to Studio Project 1: London Architecture, as well as a core workshop. This trip was for us to understand and appreciate the different context and meanings behind objects. We were asked to select one exhibition and observe why we chose the object/ exhibition. The brief asked us to draw the object from different perspective and different parts of the exhibition. This was for us to be able to understand how and why this object was created. We were told that when a piece is placed within an exhibition the context and meaning of the object is portrayed through the aura, atmosphere and feeling. We had to recreate this through our designs by drawing what we felt provided this information.
This trip to the exhibition also influenced another part of our further education within the genre of graphic design, as we were asked to scan in our drawings so we would be able to make a short film about the specific image. This trip to the museum was hugely influential to our understanding of the brief that we were in the midst of creating, it asked us to create an abstract representation of museums and galleries so this acted as a research source for the brief.
IMAGE REFERENCES Images taken from designers websites.
Figure 1. Sorry. Not Sorry. Mother Design (2018). Sorry. Not Sorry For Being Me. [image] Available at: http://www.motherdesign.com/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2018]. Figure 2. Nike Golf Club Mother Design (2018) Nike Golf Club. [image] Available at: http://www.motherdesign.com/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2018]. Figure 3. AIGA Mother Design (2018) AIGA. [image] Available at: http://www.motherdesign.com/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2018].
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