B R E A K T H R O U G H James Devereaux-Ward
C O N T E N T S
Breakthrough Self Promotion......................................... 04 K.I.S.S......................................................06 The Imperfect Helvetica............................10
Handmade & Bound...................................16 Type Distortion..........................................20 Traces of traces......................................... 22 Blur........................................................... 24 The Little Book of Lies...............................28 Deconstruct...............................................30 Duplicate...................................................34
Reflection..................................................38 Creative Thinking.......................................39 Inspirations................................................40
Below a spread from the publication ‘K.I.S.S’
Link: view full publication Below: pages from the K.I.S.S publication
K . I . S . S
Publication Here is a publication containing some of my inspirations from the summer 2011. I have placed these all within one book using tracing paper to represent my inspirations merging together, to become a unique piece of work in itself. The title K.I.S.S is an acronym for ‘keep it short and simple’, which I wanted to bring to my work this year. This also reflects in the design of the publication, where I have used minimal type and a simple grid structure.
Link: view full film here Below: screenshots from The Imperfect Helvetica video
THE
IMPERFECT
HELVETICA
Process Video To use Helevtica within design is a topic which always gets brought into conversation. I wanted to challenge the typeface Helvetica to create a new exciting font from the original. The process has been documented into a series of publications as the type develops. I used a photocopier to manipulate the typeface as it is a process I wanted to explore. The brief was to create a video exactly three minutes long following the dogme rules.The process was filmed initially with Tim Harris, and then re-shot with Justin Devon Moore. I wanted to focus on the repetition of the process and the detail typography which was being created. This project opened my eyes to working with video editing which I really enjoyed and want to persue in future projects.
Above: a spread from the second publication ‘The Imperfect Helvetica’
Link: view all publications here Right spreads from the publication Below: front cover
THE
IMPERFECT
HELVETICA
Series of Publications As a result of manipulating one publication, I ended up creating a series of five. This shows off the stages and development the typography went through. The publications went from being in a rigid form and within a grid to a fluid imperfect typeface. This brief has inspired me to carry on the theme of translation which is reflected with later briefs.
Left: limited edition A2 screenprint poster Below: screenprint sketchbooks
WORK
WORK
WORK
WORK
Print Work work work work is a screenprint I have created to inspire myself and others to produce more work. By placing it on the front cover of a sketchbooks and a series of A2 prints we would be constantly reminded to work as hard as we can, in order to succeed in life. These prints were later sold at the Handmade & Bound event at St. Brides Library.
H A N D M A D E
&
B O U N D
Event Video The book fair was full of colourful work and had a bubbly atmosphere. Everyone was very friendly and it was particularly nice to talk to other students and artists about their own work. I also managed to sell a vast amount of prints and sketchbooks which was nice. While I was at the Handmade & Bound event at St. Brides Library Justin Devon Moore, Tom Hagerty and myself filmed the day. We tried to capture the wonderful atmosphere, the history of the St. Brides library and the wide selection of work at the event. This would be edited into a lively and upbeat video to showcase the day and act as a teaser for next years event. This project also helped me to consolidate on my editing and filming skills which I would like to develop. We are planning to attend other events like this and record the day to develop our skills and to get our videography out into the world.
Link: view video here Above: screenshots from the Handmade & Bound Video
T Y P E
D I S T O R T I O N
Experimentation To build on from the idea of translation I have played around with layers of type. I printed duplicates of the same typography and then cut each page so that I could distort and manipulate the type. The words are quotes about translation which is reflected with the outcome with the images morphing from the original.
T R AC E S
O F
T R AC E S
Experimentation I have taken some of the most recognisable shapes and tried to trace around it exactly. I would then traced the trace while trying to leave half a centremetre between each shape created. Copying a copy always leads to an interesting distortion of the original. Here I have communicated the idea of mistranslation just like the game Chinese Whispers, where the original words slowly develop into new words just like my shapes transform. I was influenced by Tony Orrico who represents the perfect human by extended his arms fully and creating patterns with circles, repeating the process until it is visually engaging.
Right: screenshot from the Blur video
Above: screenshots from the Blur Video Link: view film here
B L U R
Video While experimenting with the dogme video, another possibilty was to document my journey home. Myself and Lance were filming a train late at night and enjoyed blurring the image, by placing the camera out of focus. I then used this idea while travelling around in my car late at night, as colours would influence the image more. Bright hues from shops, cars and street lamps appeared in the short films. I have then edited these films to one of the songs we were listening to in the car which suits the movement in the video. The video would be used as a teaser of the album from Gasoline Monk.
THE
LITTLE
BOOK
OF
LIES
Photocopies of Photocopies This is a publication created from a blank piece of paper and placing it through the photocopier a series of times. Each time a piece of dust was picked up, which gradually developed into darker areas. After forty six pages the sheet of paper left was completed black. I have been inspired by Daniel Eatock’s approach to his work, most notably where he took a new laser toner and printed off as many black pages as possible, until it ran out. This is very similar to what I have done here in my own work. I positioned my photocopies into a landscape publication to reinact the process of lifting up the lid of the photocopier, of which can be seen on each spread.
THE LITTLE BOOK OF LIES
Above: front cover Right: A spread from the book Link: view whole publication here
Right: Fairley press with wooden letterpress
Below: a selection of prints Link: view all letterpress here
D E C O N S T R U C T
Experimentation Here I have deconstructed the word ‘deconstruct’ by taking the magnets and frame away after the first letterpress print. Letterpress artist Alan Kitchings’ work is very experimental, playing around with angles. This is what I wanted to try and play around with. While inking up each block and printing, the wood type moved around in all directions leading to this nice series of prints. I left the full stop with the magnets around it to show off the movement more from the other letters. I wanted to create a series of publications, where the content gets deconstructed. The prints would then act as the front covers of the publications.
Right: experimental letterpress ‘duplicate’
Link: view full publication here Below: front cover Right: spreads from the publication
D U P L I C AT E
Publication Duplicate is a publication containing Walter Benjamin’s text called ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. The title ‘Duplicate’ reinforces this idea. Letterpress is a process which can be easily copied for mass production. The letterpress type flows through each page within the publication to emphasise Benjamin’s points. Only letters from the word ‘Duplicate’ are seen in the publication.
Above: Personal website
Link: view website here Below: pages from my website
S E L F
P R O M O T I O N
Website Summertime was a great opportunity to learn new skills. I took the opportunity to design and build a personal website from scratch, showcasing my work as a graphic designer. I self taught myself basic html and css while using Adobe Dreamweaver. I also obtained a good understanding of web design which took considerable time. The website is still a work in progress, but is taking shape very nicely. The design and layout of the website is kept as simple as possible, so I could update it when needed, and so viewers could easily navigate through. I have learnt so much through trial and error and now have obtained a basic understanding of the topic. I would like to persue coding after I have graduated to widen my knowledge.
R E F L E C T I O N
Evaluation Upon reflection I believe I have successfully experimented with a wide range of mediums producing interesting outcomes. This has been most notably either through publications or videography. During this semester I wanted to tackle my weaknesses which included typography, coding and editing software skills. This is what I have embraced and tried to improve by incorporating these into my projects, most notable ‘The Imperfect Helvetica’. I realise that I am a designer who enjoys restrictions, The first two projects were set to us by our lecturers and these I believe are my strongest projects. It helped having clear outcome requirements to position my experimental work. I have particularly enjoyed developing my skills with a camera and also by combining text and images within publications. Hopefully this will make me a better designer in the future, as I will have a wider understanding of the new software skills I have developed. Analogue processes is still what I enjoy the most, which includes letterpress, screenprints and illustration. However now I have a greater knowledge of digital skills. I have experimented with photocopiers, videography and creative software to expand myself as a broad graphic designer who is comfortable on most platforms. Building myself a website has opened my eyes to the digital age. The internet is the future for design I believe, and so by having a basic understanding of the topic I hope to develop my skills in the near future. I would like to create a completely new website for myself next year, before enganging in client work. I wanted to develop some projects, especially the ‘Deconstruct’ letterpress series where I wanted to explore placing them on the front cover of publications and experimenting with the content to reflect the front image. This would have developed my layout and typography skills, and would also have fit better within graphic design rather than just being experimental letterpress prints. Overall I am fairly satisfied with the quality and quantity of the work I have produced. I have experimented with a wide range of processes and mediums, with many of the briefs having a successful outcome. I have also designed and coded my own personal website which was a huge mountain to climb. My new software skills including Adobe Illustrator, Premier, Dreamweaver and Final Cut Pro has dramatically expanded my skill set as a designer. The knowledge I have learnt this semmester will help me not only for my final major project, but also in the design industry after graduating.
C R E AT I V E
T H I N K I N G
F.m.p Proposal I plan to develop my skills with typography, grids and editing skills by incorporating them into my final major project. I would like to produce a series of publications with a variety of content so I could experiment with the design of each completely differently. Several key words which I would like to investigate are : repetition, manipulation, transformation, development, translation, duplication, replication, compression. Perhaps a publication for each would be interesting to persue. Each publication would not only work as an individual but also as a series of investigation. The content could be found theory on each topic and my aim would be to represent the text as best as possible through the form, structure and layout. Each publication would then have it’s own video to accompany the text similar to ‘The Imperfect Helvetica’ project. where the publications development became the video itself.
Links K.I.S.S Publication The Imperfect Helvetica Video The Imperfect Helvetica Publications Handmade & Bound Video Blur Deconstruct Duplicate Personal Website
Special Thanks To Justin Devon Moore, Lance De Vries Tim Harris Mika Vaajoki Tom Hagerty
I N S P I R AT I O N S
Bibliography Books Temkin, Ann. (2009). Gabriel Orozco. New York. Tate Publishing. Baines, Phil. (2005) Penguin by Design. England. Allen Lane. Eatock, Daniel. (2008) Daniel Eatock Imprint.England. Princeton Architectural Press. Shaughnessy, Adrian. (2010) How To Be A Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul. England. Lawrence King. 2 Edition. Shaughnessy, Adrian. (2009). Studio Culture. England. Unit Editions Evamy, Michael. (2007) Logo. England. Lawrence King Taylor, Fig. (2010). How To Create A Portfolio & Get Hired. England Lawrence King Personal Websites Mark Porter, Josep Roman Barri, Brice Bischoff, Studio 8, Alida Rosie Sawyer, Pentegram, Deutsche & Japaner, Theo Simpson, Daniel Eatock, Anthony Arias, Katrin Schack, Fuel, NeoNeo, Craig Ward, Tony Orrico, Lita Albuquerque Blogs Ignant, Its Nice That, Booooooom, Flickr, GDNM, The New Graphic, Aisle One, Visuelle, September Industry, Many Stuff, FFFOUND! Interview Oliver, Vaughan (2011) [conversation about collaboration and copyright in Epsom held on 5 December 2011] Documentaries R.I.P. Remix. (2008). Directed by Brett Gaylor Good Copy, Bad Copy. (2007) Directed by Andreas Johnsen, Films The Idiots. (1998). Directed by Lars Von Trier. Denmark, Copy Shop. (2001). Directed by Virgil Widrich Events Handmade & Bound [held at St. Brides Library, London on 20 November], Critical Tensions [held at St. Brides Library, London, 10 - 11 November] including talks from Alan Kitching, Jonathon Barnbrook, Zoe Bather, Marina Willer, Vaughan Oliver, Phil Baines