The
CITY in
Flux!
Research Book
Alexander Nicholson
Photographs: Textures Firstly I photographed textures within different materials across the city. Images I have included in these pages include wood, metal,stone and brick although they are all compleatly different in colour and texture. once upclose there is a certain beauty to them as they are vibrant and unique. I felt that I could use these later in pm project. I also attempted to capture the image from a unique camer angle, meaning i didnt capture any unesessery ojects or people.
Photographs: Typography After photographing textures i then decide to photograph various forms of typography through out the city. I fouused on type that was whethered and in a state of decay as I felt this made the images much more interesting and unique. I also attempted to capture the image from a unique camer angle, meaning I didnt capture any unesessery ojects or people.
Image Manipulation For my first manipulation I gathered some of my best photographs together, using Photoshop I layered them ontop of eachother, focusing on the text and unique textures. I continued this technique untill I built up an image although I decided that the piece was too busy, looking clutered and not convaying a clear message. To fix this I croped and edited into the image.
After making my origional image I decided to edit it, using crops and various editing techniques. I began by cropping the image in different ways, focusing on different aspects of the piece and creating strong focal points. Once I was happy with the crop I used features such as filter gallery, curves, hue & saturation and exposure. I strived to create an image that was different, convaying a strong sence of narrative whilst being asthetically pleasing.
Image Manipulation After my first edit I decided to create a second edit, again layering type and images from my photographs and layering them over eachother, this again created a piece that looked cluttered and untidy so I decided to crop and edit the piece. I also experimented with the colour schemeas it was very similar to my first edit.
Once I had my image I decided to edit it using various tools in Adobe Phtoshop. I began by croping my image, picking oud different areas which creat unique and interesting focal points. I then proceeded to edit my piece, using tools such as the filter gallery, curves, hue & saturation tool and exposure tool. I decided to end with a high contrast back and white image as it reflected how worn the text was whilst still offerering a presentable outcome.
Scaned Media & Layouts. Next I decided to experiment with different scraps of paper revolving around the theme of travel and trade. Once I had colleced a series of clippings I scanned them at 600dpi in order to produce clear crips image which could be blown up to a much larger size. I then layered the images over eachother creating different shapes.
Layout Experiments. Once I had scanned the clippings I used Adobe Photoshop to arrange them on a blank document, alowing both text and textures to stand out clearly. The coloured parts of the scans also worked well as it broke the image up making it more visually pleasing. Once I had the scans layered together I used a map of the UK as a stencil. Using the ‘Polygon Lasso Tool’ I traced around the image which then ment my clippings of paper replicated the UK. I did this to reprisent the maount of trade that comes through our cities. If the city has no trade links it will not grow and expand. I noticed that many of the clipping include the name of a large city.
Once I had my piece I decided that it was hard to make out with a white background so I layered the image over a black backgrond which made the piece stand out. The black background also emphsises the colours within the piece such as the red and gold stamp.
After adding the piece onto a black background i decided to experiment with putting the piece on a textured background. This gives the impression that the image of the UK is a luggage sticker, attached to a parcle, this strengthens the narrative surrounding the piece.
After adding the piece to a solid black background I decided to experiemnt with other block colours in order to find out which best worked with the image. In my opinion I feel that the brown piece works well as it creats a strong outline whilst enphsising colours within the piece. It also links with the travel narrative.
After the sucess of adding the piece to a textured background (cardboard) I decided to experiment with others. The brick and concrete outcome give the impression that the piece is being used as some kind of advertisment as other posters are usually shown in this way. In adition the textured backgrounds help create a strong outline around the piece.
Vintage Ads Experiments: Typography Next I decided to experiment with different styles of typography. This brought me back to the ideas of vintage posters and advertisments from the 1910s-40/50s era where a hand written style of type was used heavily along side brigh machinary and poster girls. Because of this I experimented with six that I felt were the strongest. Although the fonts are all similar I decided that ‘Lobster’ best replicated the kind of font used in that era. I then went on to experiment with it, looking at different pt. sizes reflections and inverts. I felt that I style like this could be influential later in the project.
City in flux 1) CF JAQUES CARTER
2) Mastoc
City in Flux 3) Lobster
City in Flux
5) MOTION PICTURE
City in Flux 6) RAKOON
City in Flux
Font: Lobster - Created by ‘Pablo Impallari’
Aa
Aa
Bb
Bb
Lobster
City in flux 4) PACIFICO
Aa Bb
Lobster Lobster
ABC IJK Q R ST U Colours,
Textures & Layers.
After selecting a strong font I decided to experiment further, creating the alphabet from the font. Due to the style of posters and ads I had researched I decided to double up the letters, creating a 3D effect which was common arounf that time. Each letter is made up of two different colours, this allowd be to see which worked well and which didn’t.
D E F GH L MN O P VW X Y Z
I then took this font style and experimented with different layouts. The first was a simple stack with the letters ‘in’ reduced in size as I felt this distracted from the main type. I also used the same 3D layering technique, using colours that were traditional at the time. The image on the left page shows how I experiemnted with this type in a circualr formation. Whilst I feel that layout itself was sucesfull I feel that the 3D layering of colours has not being sucesfull as it makes the piece harder to read.
I continued to experiment with the typography, laying the type out in a ‘wave’ style. The first experiment (Above) shows the basic style although I feel that it is vastly improved in the second vesion. I have reduced the sixe of ‘in’ as the other words are more important. I have also added a capital letter to ‘Flux’, again stressing its importacne. the use of a exclmation mark gives the type a bigger impression, some how making it stand out more.
After experimenting with ‘City in Flux’ I decided to experiment with some other lexis, focusing on typically English lexis which as in fassion around the early part of the last centurary. I felt that these words wouldnt look out of place in this style of poster as similar lexis has been used in affect. I also experimented with different colours as this again alowed me to see which worked best.
1 4
2 5
3 6
Location Images & Type. A second idea was to take this style of typography and overlay in onto photographs. I decided to use the photographs of different textures and overlay the type onto these, with the right wording use a strong narrative could be created. I used variopus techniques in the Adobe creative suite to replicate the textures and saturation of the origional image, in hope of making the type appear asif it had alway been there. I plan to take this Idea further, using taglines and slogans which creat a stron narrative on photographs which contridicat it.
In my first attempt I overlayed the type onto the image, lowering the opacity although this created a false effect as the type looked asif It had just been placed onto the image. The textures within the backgrounds had also been lost acros the text again making it look asif the piece was two seperate images.
In the second image i firstly decided to make the text bigger making it more of a focal point. Next I experimented with different filters in Photoshop, which helped give the edges of the text as wherthered and rough effect. I then used the dodge and burn tool to pick out areas of highlights and shadown whilst constantly ajusting the opacity and fill in order to recreate a faded feel.
Vintage style Experiments on Photos & Illustrations. As one of my backup ideas I decided to look at old vintage style advertismesnts that were origionaly printed on tin or painted on the side of large builings. I thought that maybe there was a way of combining this old style of advertising but with new products, architecture and transport which would link into the city in flux theme, almost creating an illusion to thye viewer. I began by finding a vector image of a London landmark, focusing on recognisable architecture I decided to choose the Gherkin. I the when on to edit the image using layer masks filters and other effects to give the piece a ‘blocky’ painted feel. I also used Adobe Illistrator for some of these techniques too. Lastly I experimeted with a monochrome version althoigh I feel the colour images are more powerfull and recognisable.
Once I had the main focal point of the image (The arichtectural piece) I turned my attention to the kinds of backgrounds these adverts were typically painted on. Firstly I looked at old brown packeging paper which gives a rough vintage look. To show this I scanned a sheet in at 600dpi to get a high resoloution image. The ‘Screwed up texture’ shows highlights and shadowns well making the pactkroung media asthetic qualities of its own.
The second material I looked at was tin and aluminium, as these styles of adverts were typically printed on them. This particualr scan is the rear of an origional advert. The different textures create a unique look that is totally different style to and other media.
Trial Experiments. Finally I decided to combine these pieces together into a advertising poster idea. I added photographs and type to the piece, using catchy tag lines and slogans. I also kept the colour scheme consistant puting photofilters over the phoographs to intencify the colours. Finally I added the lettering “LONDON’ and overlayed all the different aspects onto the background. This created a much darker and prominant image. I Finally phptographed my image in situe in order to get a feel for how it would look.
The
CITY in
Flux!
BA Hons Graphic Design (Year One)
The University of Huddersfield