DESIGN CONTEXT a visual bibliography of my practice Naomi Farrar
DESIGN CONTEXT a visual bibliography of my own practice Naomi Farrar
01
Foreword — is forewarned?
— foreword — This publication is categorised into four chapters. These sections cover the topics that I feel have the biggest influence upon my practice, and can contextualise my work the best. They are: typography, print, colour and an ‘uncategorisable’ category. Whatever could that be, I hear you ask? Well, I don’t necessarily have an answer—It is anything that inspires me: music, architecture, smells, projects or textures. Because of the irregular and unpredictable nature of how this material can be found, used and interpreted, I have not separated this section from the rest of the book, but included it as and when it felt appropriate to do so. Allow me to begin...
Disciplined self-indulgence.
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Contents 01–02 — Foreword 03–04 — Contents 05–06 — Type Type 07–08 — Melbourne Dance Company promotion by Josip Kelava Uncategorisable 09–10 — Collection of Inspiration Type 11–12 — Collection of Inspiration 13–14 — Collection of Inspiration 15–16 — Main Studio Uncategorisable 17–18 — The extent of McDonalds brand identity & Banksy on Advertising Type 19–20 — An essay in Tweets by Jonathan Barnbrook and Word As Image by Ji Lee 21–22 — Pangrams showcasing eights of Interstate and Didot LT Std 23–24 — Nokia Pure 25–26 — Collection of Inspiration Uncategorisable 27-28 — Quote on Passion via Matt Kendall, Retrofuzz Type 29–30 — Collection of Inspiration Uncategorisable 31–32 — Collection of Inspiration Type 33–34 — Collection of Inspiration 35–36 — Pangrams showcasing eights of Frutiger LT Std and Fairfield LT Std Uncategorisable 37-38 — A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young 39–40 — Colour Colour 41–42 — Collection of Inspiration
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Contents — How to navigate this book
Uncategorisable 43–44 — Interview With Bobby Solomon, founder of The Fox Is Black 45–46 — Daniel Eatock’s Felt Tip Prints Colour 47–48 — Interview with Brand_Nu 49–50 — Collection of Inspiration 51–52 — Alberto Seveso – A Due Colori 53–54 — Gregoire Alexandre photography for Ornette’s ‘Crazy’ album artwork 55–56 — Holi Festival 57–58 — Zutto World Uncategorisable 59–60 — Sarpi Border Checkpoint Architecture by J. Mayer. H. Architects 61–62 — Franck Bohbot – Respect The Architect Colour 63–64 — Poc Mag by The Church Of London 65–66 — Collection of Inspiration – Pattern 67–68 — Print Print 69–70 — Collection of Inspiration – Packaging 71–72 — Generation Press for Nick Bell Uncategorisable 73–74 — Quote on Passion via Matt Kendall, Retrofuzz Print 75–76 — Collection of Inspiration 77–78 — Collection of Inspiration 79–80 — Collection of Inspiration 81–82 — Novum Magazine by Paperlux Uncategorisable 83–84 — Collection of Inspiration 85–86 — How To Draw A Penguin by Oliver Jeffers Print 87–88 — &Smith Design Projects 89–90 — Kevin Leung & Salad Creative Uncategorisable 91–92 — Quote on Passion via Matt Kendall, Retrofuzz 93–94 — Bibliography, References & Thanks
Do we need holes?
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—type
You can only make one dot at a time.
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Type — Melbourne Dance Company promotion by Josip Kelava
“When I was first approached to design the poster for the new Melbourne Dance Company, I wanted to do it a little differently. It felt cliche to use a script type, as it was used like that countless times for ballet posters. Initially the design was just going to be used as a headline but I had to remember that dance was an expression of movement, and thus, I wanted the type to wrap around the dancer as if it was dancing on it’s own. And because the type has such sharp corners,and ballet is meant to be quite sensual, I purposely wanted this contrast in the juxtaposition. I wanted the viewer to look at the poster and let it play intheir mind, both with the harshness of the type and the softness of the dancer. Just like dancing can be interpretive differently to others, I wanted to do the same for the poster. Using the different characters within the type allowed meto do this, and overall, create a visual dance in itself.� Josip Kelava
Destroy -nothing -the most important thing.
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Uncategorisable — Collection of Inspiration
Ask people to work against their better judgement.
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Type — Collection of Inspiration
Be extravagant.
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My intention was always to illustrate without illustrating —Marian Bantjes
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Type — Collection of Inspiration
Only one element of each kind.
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Type — Main Studio
Don’t be afraid of things because they’re easy to do.
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Uncategorisable — the extent of McDonalds brand identity & Banksy on Advertising
People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you. You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity. Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head. You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs. - Banksy
Consult other sources -promising -unpromising.
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Typography is never just about legibility, or aesthetics for that matter. It is first the expression of language & contains everything seduction, violence, beauty, ugliness, the conceptual & the aesthetic. Drawing a typeface is a collage all of things in a visual form it is intimately connected with ‘truth’, with religion, government, protest, gender and race identity. To not acknowledge these is to not understand its true role in society: what unconscious messages your work gives out and what a complex task it is to draw a typeface. In the fuse lecture last week we talked of moving away from legible letterforms but it’s that tension to the legible model that is exciting. We can play with history, recognition & bring in other visual forms like architecture, abstraction or common symbolism in relation to it. Many typographers talk about loving letterforms but never mention language. You have to ‘feel’ the nuances, double meanings, contradictions of language to be able to draw mature letterforms which can be used for the many voices of thought expressed as written text. For typography & typeface design, illegibility is as much a technique as legibility. To whisper is as important as to shout, to leave things open for meaning to be created is as important as stating things explicitly. It is a more realistic & honest way to work. Gill said “letters are things, not pictures of things”. For me nowadays they are both, objects themselves connected with the world but also a complex collage of historical, social & wide ranging visual references, which I believe in today’s society people absolutely understand.
Jonathan Barnbrook, 11th March 2012
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Type — An essay in Tweets by Jonathan Barnbrook and Word As Image by Ji Lee
Twist the spine.
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the quick onyx goblin jumps over the lazy dwarf 21
Type — Pangrams showcasing eights of Interstate and Didot LT Std
five hexing wizard bots jump quickly Change nothing and continue with immaculate consistency.
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Dalton Maag was asked by Nokia to design a typeface primarily for use in digital media (mobile devices and the web), which would also be versatile enough to be the cornerstone for all of Nokia’s communications worldwide. In their own words, the new font family had to reflect the traditions of Finnish design: simplicity, clarity, functionality and beauty of form – in short, Pure. The clean lines of the letter forms make this a font that is easy to read with no unnecessary frills to distract from its message. As Dalton Maag have added script systems to the font, they have carried through the essential character of the font and kept the ethos that this is a font about legibility and purity of design. Beyond that Nokia Pure is, quite simply, a very special typeface because of its impressive reach. It currently supports 15 different script systems, covering the languages of about 4 billion people around the world. Work continues on the project, with Tamil and Khmer being the latest scripts systems to be completed. It is providing a unified visual expression to the Nokia brand that can be translated across continents and borders, but it is also helping people to communicate by providing them with mobile phones that actually use their own languages and script systems.
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Type — Nokia Pure
The typeface has spawned a book published by Gestalten, and won the graphics category of the London Design Museum’s Designs of the Year 2012 awards. It has had its detractors too. Bruno paraphrases his regular verbal sparring partner Erik Spiekermann – who designed Nokia’s previous typeface Nokia Sans – as saying, “I did something much better. At least what I did had personality.” “But that was the problem,” says Bruno. “What Spiekermann did with his typeface – and it’s a great typeface – is he gave it so much personality that Nokia couldn’t work with it anymore.” What Bruno means by this is that a mobile font needs to be, he feels, “deliberately bland, with relatively little personality”, to be flexible enough for all the different things it might be used to say. It needs to feel as comfortable delivering tragic news in a tweet as when sending a ribald joke to friends, and as appropriate for a flirty message to your partner as an always-too-tardy reply to your mum. Legibility and comfort at small sizes was also a priority.
“It needs to feel as comfortable delivering tragic news in a tweet as when sending a ribald joke to friends”
Courage!
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Type — Collection of Inspiration
Define an area as ‘safe’ and use it as an anchor.
26
“Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.” — Jon Bon Jovi
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Uncategorisable — Quote on Passion via Matt Kendall, Retrofuzz
Do nothing for as long as possible.
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Type — Collection of Inspiration
Question the heroic approach.
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31
Uncategorisable — Collection of Inspiration
Use an old idea.
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Type — Collection of Inspiration
Honor thy error as a hidden intention.
34
the wizard quickly jinxed the gnomes before they vapourized 35
Type — Pangrams showcasing eights of Frutiger LT Std and Fairfield LT Std
grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack Give way to your worst impulse.
36
“Out of such material it is possible to build a useful sourcebook of ideas.”
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Uncategorisable — A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young
“drop the problem completely, and turn to whatever stimulates your imagination and emotions.�
Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them.
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—colour
Always first steps.
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Colour — Collection of Inspiration
Question the heroic approach.
42
When sourcing features for The Fox Is Black, are there particular characteristics or aesthetics in the work that you look for, or that you notice are a common feature?
Is it important for people working creatively to engage in a dialogue with others about their inspiration, or is finding this inspiration enough on its own?
The things I post about tend to be from all over the place, it’s just where my mind is. Lately we’ve been trying to string together a week of themed posts, which has been an interesting challenge. We’ve had two so far, Ice and China, and each were pretty interesting. It’s really different to try and find a wide variety of content based around a single theme.
It’s become a part of my daily life, more than anything. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t write every day, I think I’d be really bored.
Are there any requirements that work must fill to be ‘inspiring enough’ for you to feature on the blog?
I hope people come to the site and feel like there’s a big world fill of creative people out there, and that they can be a part of it. I think people contributing to the greater good is an important idea that’s been lost in the last 20 years or so.
There’s no hard and fast rules, it’s pretty much just my own opinion. It needs to be different, it needs to be original. It can’t be something that follows some obnoxious trend like minimal movie poster remakes. Feeling authentic is important as well.
When looking at other people’s work for inspiration, what would you say are do’s and don’ts to bear in mind?
Do you find that collecting inspiration and sharing it with others helps your own practice?
Yikes, this is a tough question. There’s an abstract set of rules in my brain, which are somewhat difficult to explain. I tend to like really colorful work. I don’t think there can be any rights or wrongs, it’s all just a matter of perspective.
I’m always finding inspiring and interesting things, the blog simply let’s me channel it out to others. With or without a blog I’d still be looking for interesting things going on in the world.
43
What would you hope people gain from their experience reading The Fox Is Black?
Uncategorisable — Interview With Bobby Solomon, founder of The Fox Is Black
Take away the elements in order of apparent non-importance.
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Uncategorisable —Daniel Eatock’s Felt Tip Prints
Do something boring.
46
What do you think is most important when selecting a colour palette to work with— what the colour represents in the work, or purely it’s aesthetic appearance? Are the colour choices in your work usually decided or suggested by clients or chosen yourself? Half of the time, when briefs are of rather abstract nature I just use colours that I like and enjoy working with. These could be influenced by previous work or eliminated by the same subject. If I had worked with lots of bright/warm colours I might want to switch the spectrum a little bit. For the second half of the workload, I might have to adhere to brand guidelines which will dictate the colour palette. Some of the colour choices could be influenced by a random fact, client’s location or simply by application of the final piece.
At what stage of a project do you begin to work with colour? Is it important to know the final colours from the start, or should they progress naturally? Do you begin with black and white, or avoid it at all costs!? Apart from complex vector objects or type which is made only in black & white, I will always start working in colour to get a feel for the final result. Although sometimes I might not even finish the piece in the colours that I start with, I would use warm colours for sketching. I am very comfortable with the tonal differences and harmonies, therefore it helps me to find the quicker results.
47
Colour — Interview with Brand_Nu
Are there any colours you hate to work with? Or that you love to work with more than others? For some reason I didn’t like to work with pinks and oranges but it has since changed. I only work in CMYK as RGB colours really wind me up. There’s nothing worse than RGB Cyan or Pink.
What restrictions to you place on the work you do, in terms of colours? Is there a maximum that you think should be used in one project, or are there no limitations at all? As long as the message is clear, there should be enough colours to keep you entertained whilst the subject matter isn’t overpowered. I think I tend to work within 6-7 colours at the time with extra harmonies to break it up.
Are there any particular rules or sayings you try to work with in your creative practice as a whole? I go by the ‘rule of the opposite’ - it means that the first solution that comes to your mind should be ignored and the opposite should be found. Lots of people go with their first instinct which can produce similar looking work.
the first solution that comes to your mind should be ignored and the opposite should be found
You don’t have to be ashamed of using your own ideas.
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Colour — Collection of Inspiration
Don’t be frightened of cliches.
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Colour — Alberto Seveso – A Due Colori
Make an exhaustive list of everything you might do & do the last thing on the list.
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Colour — Gregoire Alexandre photography for Ornette’s ‘Crazy’ album artwork
Reverse.
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Colour — Holi Festival
Remember those quiet evenings.
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Colour — Zutto World
A line has two sides.
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Uncategorisable — Sarpi Border Checkpoint Architecture by J. Mayer. H. Architects
The customs checkpoint is situated at the Georgian border to Turkey, at the shore of the Black Sea. With its cantilevering terraces, the tower is used as a viewing platform, with multiple levels overlooking the water and the steep part of the coastline. In addition to the regular customs facilities, the structure also houses a cafeteria, staff rooms and a conference room. The building welcomes visitors to Georgia, representing the progressive upsurge of the country.
Give the name away.
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Uncategorisable — Franck Bohbot – Respect The Architect
Faced with a choice, do both.
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Colour — Poc Mag by The Church Of London
Water.
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Colour — Collection of Inspiration – Pattern
Change nothing and continue with immaculate consistency.
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—print
Make a sudden, destructive, unpredictable action; incorporate.
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Print — Collection of Inspiration – Packaging
Not building a wall but making a brick.
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Print — Generation Press for Nick Bell
Change instrument roles.
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Uncategorisable — Quote on Passion via Matt Kendall, Retrofuzz
“Work is easy when it’s just work, it’s much harder when you actually care” — John Maeda
Dont be frightened to display your talents.
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Print — Collection of Inspiration – Publication
Disconnect from desire.
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Print — Collection of Inspiration – Publication
Use an unacceptable color.
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Print — Alphabetical Studio & Studio Brave
Get your neck massaged.
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Print — Novum Magazing by Paperlux
Remove specifics and convert to ambiguities.
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Uncategorisable — Collection of Inspiration
Ask your body.
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Uncategorisable — How To Draw A Penguin by Oliver Jeffers
Trust in the you of now.
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Print — Kevin Leung & Salad Creative
What would your closest friend do?
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Print — &Smith Design Projects
Emphasize the flaws.
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Uncategorisable — Quote on Passion via Matt Kendall, Retrofuzz
“People say you have to have a lot of passion for what you’re doing and it’s totally true. And the reason is because it’s so hard that if you don’t, any rational person would give up.” — Steve Jobs
Simply a matter of work.
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Bibliography & Thanks
— with thanks — Designed and compiled with thanks to Bobby Solomon, Radim Malinic, Matt Kendall, Andy Lodge, Note To Self Consortium & Bruno Maag, for all their words of wisdom and direction.
Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies
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Bibliography 07–08 — josipkelava.com 09–10 — shirotokuro.com justresume.org 11–12 — thetypegarden.com/mfa-dagi jessicawalsh.com flickr.com/photos/muizanwar bramvanhaeren.com marcuskelman.co.uk 13–14 — tspeirs.co.uk I Wonder by Marian Bantjes presentandcorrect.com/blog/letters-a-f amusestudionyc.com/home/?p=19 15–16 — septemberindustry.co.uk/mainstudio 17–18 — twitpic.com/79hjor thefoxisblack.com/2012/02/29/banksy-on-advertising 19–20 — twitter.com/barnbrook pleaseenjoy.com 23–24 — fontfeed.com/archives/dalton-maags-nokia-pure-font-wins-graphics-award digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/?newsid=3353676 nokiapureblog.daltonmaag.com 25–26 — typoflat.com paganandsharp.com andychung.ca 27-28 & 73–74 & 91–92— Matt Kendall, retrofuzz.com notetoselfcreativeconsortium.com 29–30 — designmadeingermany.de/2011/1170 fontstruct.com/fontstructions/show/314842 dominantprimordialbeast.com dailydropcap.com issuu.com/fontsmith/docs/fs_the_collection 31–32 — patternity.co.uk theselius.com/2010/11/15/dieter-rams/dieter-rams-braun-sixtant-sm2 tsunamiglassworks.com/products.php?pfid=33 behance.net/wordboner designlessbetter.com/blogless/posts/variations-of-incomplete-open-cubes 33–34 — flickr.com/photos/7259223@N05 septemberindustry.co.uk/heydays-norway underconsideration.com/fpo/archives/2011/09/alphabet-promotional-poster.php behance.net/rossitssa bravocharlietango.com/index.php?/projects/ruby-star 37-38 — A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young. With thanks to Andy Lodge 41–42 — claudiokirac.com/Graphics-Folio/book-one.aspx flickr.com/photos/cliffbriggie 43–44 — Interview with thanks to Bobby Solomon of thefoxisblack.com 45–46 — eatock.com 47–48 — Interview with thanks to Radim Malinic of brandnu.co.uk
49–50 — pinterest.com/elleveut/to-paint farrow-ball.com ghostly.com/releases/companion pabloamargo.com flickr.com/photos/pinkponk susannstefanizen.de 51–52 — burdu976.com 53–54 — gregoirealexandre.com 55–56 — plentyofcolour.com/2011/03/22/holi-celebration-of-colour 57–58 — zuttoworld.com 59–60 — jmayerh.de 61–62 — franckbohbot.com 63–64 — thechurchoflondon.com/work/customer-publishing/poc-mag-2-0 65–66 — peterwegner.com flickr.com/photos/haynesmann etsy.com/shop/twoems excites.co.uk 69–70 — lovelypackage.com/countless-tiny-bubbles dpz.com.br blkbeverages.com 71–72 — thisiscollate.com/2011/08/08/generation-press-nick-bell-stationery 75–76 — cargocollective.com/gabrielletigan studio8design.co.uk team-impression.com huckmagazine.com 77–78 — studiovonbirken.com jeftonsungkar.com willdesignfor.co.uk angus-macpherson.co.uk brittasiegmund.de blokdesign.com urbncal.com 79–80 — alphabeticalstudio.com studiobrave.com.au 81–82 — paperlux.com 83–84 — kaiandsunny.com firefluff.com g-b.at 85–86 — gu.com/p/3vx4z/tw 87–88 — andsmithdesign.com 89–90 — behance.net/kevinleung saladcreative.com