Integrated Practice WA L U M O Z A G B A G R A P H I C C O M M U N I C AT I O N 17/18
( M D - G C 6 111 - 8 0 ) 1
walu mozagba graphic communication YR3 2017-2018
dossier
table of content The Brief highlights
3
Journal Entry
Primary Research
4
Secondary Research
Secondary research
5
Richard Avedon 32
Secondary research
7
Richard Avedon interview (1993)
TASK I: City Colour
9
Journal Entry
TASK I: City Colour
9
Secondary Research
Secondary research
10
Journal Entry
Primary Research
Journal Entry
11
Evaluation
Journal Entry
13
Journal Entry
13
Journal Entry
15
Primary Research Journal Entry
15
20
Primary Research
20
Primary Research
22
Primary Research
24
36
44
10
13
30
36
Journal Entry
Secondary research
2
30
52
44
34
the City
The Brief highlights
Choose one of the UK cities and one of the audiences from the list below. Define what the context is in relation to the chosen audience and choice of city. Present your primary research at weekly group tutorials on Fridays throughout. Submit your final work for assessment with a 200 words evaluative statement related to the project’s outcome. This project represents one of the two projects required for this submission date. The submission deadline is Monday 22 January 4pm, in Room T1.11
3
Primary Research
The city I chose is Birmingham and the audience “cyclists�. the decision to choose these was because Birmingham is a town I feel connected to because I have spent most of my adolescent years there. I am an cycling enthusiast, I like customising the bikes that I own as well as riding with friends and following what goes on in that community. However to not feel like I am compromising by taking the most straight forward place and audience I will aim to challenge myself by experimenting with new mediums. Editorial design and 3D modelling are things that I want to experiment with. My initial idea is to create a brand for a cycling related business. One of my friends from Birmingham has recently started a cycling Youtube channel I thought about creating the brand for that. This would involve a short introduction stop motion for which I could use 3D elements. I also considered making a 3D printed bike component and brand it. I thought this could be a good opportunity for me to experiment with 3D printing which I have been wanting to do since the summer. Another idea I head considered was to make a cycling culture publication.
4
Secondary research
I stared my research process looking at the cycling blogs and forums I had already come across, such as: Rawcyclingmag.com, Bikecitizen.com, lfgss.co.uk. I came across a nicely designed publication called Bikevibe: A Norwegian journal that documents the cycling culture around the world. The publication I owned is the New York issue. I was drown to this publication by its simplistic and unique cover. I while flicking I was drawn to reading the article about “...� a Youtuber I am familiar with. I then started reading the publication from cover to cover. A name I had in mind was Pavement Sandwich. To feature: Francis Cade Audacious Cyclists Hizoku cycles Broshure Osaka Callum brookes Gav BHM Strava
5
Bikevibe London: Volume five
6
Secondary research
I decided to start doing some Logo research to give myself a better idea of the set tone I want the magazine to have. Considering the current name I have I feel like I want to represent the thrilling and speed aspect of riding bicycles. I will aim to create a simplistic Logo that I can see the brand use for the next 3 to 5 years. I thought of narrowing down on a more specific demographic as it is an audience that I am familiar with and it will help with focusing my research. I will focus on creating a unisex cycling magazine for young adults (18+) with at least part-time jobs to fund their love of bikes. They enjoy also travelling, design, fashion, and health. When it comes to the print they expect a good looking easy to read magazine that will keep them up to date on the current trends. They often commute to work therefore are interested in cycling gear to make their ride as comfortable as possible. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DZc8vBgEMIA/maxresdefault.jpg
skateboard mag more artsy grey skate mag uk vague uk trasher = most popular
7
Source
Source
8
13.10.17 TASK I: City Colour
Select 15 colours, one for each city. The colours must be relevant to the city it refers to (personal experiences, historical associations, social groups, geographical features, cultural references, architectural materials, industrial output, etc.). May include a particular texture or material if you think it is necessary. Be prepared to explain your selections at the critique. Your colour selections must be produced for display as 15 separate 100mm x 100mm squares of colour. Label your squares on the back if necessary. There should be no typographic information on the front. Due on the 13h of October at 9.30.
TASK I: City Colour
The first issue I encountered, was finding a consistent colour coding system. My initial idea is to separate each regions of GB and colour code them and then make each city a different shade of that colour. I started by arranging the 15 cities according to their regions. I then had to consider what couloursI wanted to use for each regions.
9
Secondary research
The first issue I encountered, was finding a consistent colour coding system. My initial idea is to seperate each regions of GB and colour code them and then make each city a different shade of that colour.
I want this sketchbook to be no more than 100 pages.
I started by arranging the 15 cities according to their regions. I then had to consider what couloursI wanted to use for each regions.
Journal Entry
Today, I considered making a cycling blog instead of a publication. Web design is something that I want to experiment a little bit with and I believe that this brief will allow me to do that. The main issue is I will be learning how to use a new software which might take time. At the moment, deep in the research phase (it’s is done mostly online at the moment as I look for other urban cycling prints and blogs). I have narrowed done my searches to interesting typographies that I could use to represent the brand. the brand mark has to illustrate both the speed/thrill/adventurous aspects of riding fixed with a modern twist of riding fixed as well as the
10
Journal Entry
visual references for typography:
At this stage here are the images that I think should inspire this projects: I think a condensed font would help achieve a fairly unique look. It will also give me the opportunity to experiment with fonts that are usually seen in their regular form I was inspired by the remake of the poster for: “The Silence of the Lambs�. The logo to feel very loud and bold, to compliment the fast pace reading of this zine/blog. I have to start putting time into consideration to make sure I allocate as much time as possible into the actual production of this print.
11
12
Journal Entry
I decided to change my brief from a cycling website to a series of Playlists for Birmingham commuters. I started my research looking at affordable ways of printing CD Labels and apply them on a limited number of CD’s. The process started on youtube. Create a series of playlists that represent the diversity and grittiness of Birmingham Which requires a wide range of music genres. The past few years have seen a great growth in “hip-hop” sub-genres. Allowing for other genres of music like, rock // jazz/ blues // pop to come under the bracket of hip-hop. This idea came to me through the willingness of creating a compilations of songs for my dad’s birthday. The purpose of these playlists is to create enjoyable journeys to the audience they are made for. I also want to focus on artists in the early stages of their career. I also considered making vinyl covers but this will have to wait
Journal Entry Secondary research While researching design Ideas I came across the work of Oscar Reutevard and his impossible shapes painting series. I was looking into ways to include 3D shapes in my designs to make them more interesting and visually striking. I think his work had the potential of sparking the type of images I want to produce for this project. I also think adding a visual 3D element to the artworks will enable me to incorporate animation in this project. Here is a link to the website showcasing his work: http://im-possible.info/english/art/ reutersvard/reut2.html The image on page 17 gives a perfect idea of the whole vibe of his series. I liked the minimal approach of his drawing with the layout being consistent it seems to keep the all focus on the imagery. The simplistic approach of the visuals enabled him to experiment with various colours. I Also really liked the window like design that gives a view of what appears to be the sky in the background.
13
14
Journal Entry Primary Research I have started experimenting with designs for the playlist. I chose to start with 3D elements. As it is the most time consuming part of the work. However I did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to use them for and how the final artwork would look at that point. On the other hand I knew I wanted the images to give a clear visual representation of the content of the playlist. For the Bangerz Playlist I chose a mountain because I felt it represented the dark and minimal sound of the beats of the playlist. I used the colours of the final images to re-enforce the idea of the dark and minimal beats. I also believe it tied well with the time at which the image was produced which was around Halloween. I was interested in creating realistic 3d artworks that at first glance might look real. However, after showing my work to a few friemds they made it obvious that realistic 3D images are not enough on their own; I would need to make the image visually striking or incorporate elements that would make it look impossible to make it more interesting ( drawing inspiration from Oscar Reutevard’s work).
15
I started the mountain artwork by gathering references and textures to add to the 3d object (featured on the following page). The final outcome was heavily influenced by Reuben Wu’s Uncommon places III project. More specifically the image above. My attention was grabbed by the unusual bright colour of the mountain. After coming across this image I started focusing my visual research on pictures of mountains at dusk or dawn to find more interesting colour palettes to inspire the final artwork
16
17
Overall this image received the best feedback. I suspect it was because of the realistic sunny day look it has. however I wasn’t happy with the look of the rocks it made it too obvious that it was computer generate image so I reworked the mountains to make them look more realistic. And ended up with the image on the following page . I then took this final render to Photoshop were I experimented even more with the colours.
in order to make the mountain seem more realistic I simply altered the lighting. So that more emphasis is put on the texture of the 3D element rather than the pattern of rocks.
18
19
Journal Entry Primary Research This is the final image for the bangerz playlist. After I being edited. Overall I am definitely happy with the way it came out.
20
After I finalised the editing on the mountain. I tested out different places for the text and was a lot happier with the text being at the top of the image. In order to balance out the overall look of the artwork.
21
Primary Research
This was the first design I had made using a blank background on the Bangerz playlist. This is the first cover I had tested online however I hadn’t tasted the playlist on mobiles while this colour combination was being used.
22
I had tried a versions of the mountain before settling for the final image featured on page 20-21. Whilst experimenting on Photoshop I had applied a red and black gradient map on the image and thought it looked good but I had to make the mountain look more realistic first. I revisited this design and added the final typographic element over it to see how it would work with images.
23
Primary Research
I started with a simple design made of 2 basic. The emphasis would be made on the title of the playlist to familiarise the audience with the name of the playlist and help better distinguish them. It was very important for me to make sure that the design works well on a blank background too. For the design on the left I have used Helvetica for the title and Minion pro for the annotations. However, after testing the design online, I realised that with this font size the annotation aren’t readable. The image also loses a lot of its quality even when using the dimensions recommended by Soundcloud.
I felt inspired by the MPAA film rating designs. I decided to use a similar look for the typographic elements of my artworks. I started considering how to incorporate animations in the design: by incorporating a designated box that would contain a static image when the music is consumed on platforms that do not support animated objects. I thought using moving images would be a good addition thing to use on social media for promoting the playlists. This image clearly showcase Oscar Reutevard’s influence on my work.
24
This image is my favourite version at the moment because the typographic elements are taking up less space when compared with the top one. I thought this would make it less of distraction for when using images as backgrounds. I made the “BG� the biggest written part of the playlist because, as I mentioned on the previous page I wanted the audience to be able to immediately differentiate the different playlist I will make available to them. I am not yet sure what I want the bottom box ( Material brought to you...) to say at the moment. However, I had considered adding the featured artists.
The image on the left shows the stage at which I started experimenting with both the text and the image combined. At this stage I was trying to figure out whether I wanted the typographic elements and the visual elements to directly interact with each other.
25
The mock up below shows the outcome of the previous designs after I tested it out on my phone. I have tried different sizes and resolutions and they all came out somewhat pixallated therefore i made the covers the following sizes: 1425x1425 pixels at 144dpi. I thought using PNG files might have helped but it did nothing. I also had to move the text to the top of the design so that it can be seen when displayed on phones. The following page shows my final design.
26
https://soundcloud.com/mariusxmozz/sets/bangerz Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/user/mariusxmozz/playlist/5bgI9CExQfh88ezP24cSU0?si=x_2ZSAd6SGSpLRsihta8yQ 27
I had also considered making physical copies of the disk for which I had started making leaflets and a cover.
28
29
Journal Entry Secondary Research the images on the following page represent a moodboard I made to inspire the posters I plan on making to support the playlists.
After a session with Stuart he advised me to find ways of reaching the audience, in order to show that I had taken the Birmingham commuters into account he mentioned posters and guerrilla marketing. At the moment I think I could design poster that would be placed inside public transports, around town centres and cafĂŠs in order to reach the target audience. I think the posters will need to contain QR code and/or easy to follow link to the playlist for the people to access easily.
I started experimenting with type to incorporate with the cover to help differenciate them from each other. At this point I know I want to have something that will work with having images in the background. I also know that the text will need to be legible from both smartphones and laptops.
30
31
Richard Avedon Whilst researching influential photographers of the 1960’s I came across Richard’s Avedon’s work. According to various sources he was the most influential fashion photographer of the 60’s: prior to his work fashion photography was very static and formal; he managed to bring in flowing movements and surreal shots. I thought using the glamorous 60’s fashion photography style as source of inspiration for the editing of the imagery of the “Nightshift” playlist would have been a good idea. I usually base most of my 3D renders on existing photographs. Believe this gives the best results at the moment and also allows the final image to look close to reality.
32
33
Richard Avedon interview (1993) This interview focused on Richard Avdon’s autobiographical picture book. It gave a clear insight into what he is trying to convey and how he does. “A photographic portrait is supposed to be cosmetic, in most people’s eyes they want to look good but they’re idea of what looks good is completely obliterated by me... What looks good to me is the reality itself... I want to get as close to the real thing as I can get”. he went on to explain to that he sees beauty in “time does to a face” and that he doesn’t feel the need to retouch blemishes in portraits. Earlier in that same interview he had talked about how his parents would go to great lengths to stage family pictures going as far as borrowing dogs. I believe that his willingness to keep his picture where a rebellious response to his parents behaviour.
34
I made a poster in response to the ongoing police brutality issues in America
35
Journal Entry Secondary Research I started looking at photographs of the sea to get a better visual understanding of what works when it comes to photographing waves and the ocean. my visual research also gave me a better idea of how different elements in a scene interact with each other: for example how the colour of the sky is reflected onto the water and what colours I find personally pleasing or attention grabbing. I also have to make sure that the image somehow conveys the message the playlist is trying to pass onto the audience.
The recurring theme of the “Nighshift” playlist is Love. It is a series of easy to listen to, “slow jams” and love songs. I thought having an image of the ocean would perfectly illustrate the sometime peaceful and sometimes deadly facets the feeling of love can have. Alessandro Puccinelli’s work perfectly illustrates that in my opinion. With the waves forming close to the audience and the peaceful water further in the background
36
Nazarè The Swell of the Year by Alessandro Puccinelli
From above a Cliff by Alessandro Puccinelli
37
This is the final image of the 3D rendered the first sea I made using blender. I did not end up choosing this image because, after consulting a couple of tutorials, I found out that there were ways to make the water look even more realistic
38
The image below shows what I ended up with using a different method, I tried to add foam to the water as well as experimenting with a different texture and angle (birds eye view). I did not like the outcome. The water ended up looking a lot thicker than it was supposed to (this is partially due to the angle the water is viewed at: I had tried to use a filter that would make the water less see reflective when it is viewed from the top view than when it is viewed at and angle . to simulate how water reacts in real life. That resulted in the water looking very unrealistic.
39
This is the final image that I ended up manipulating to make the texture I used on the DisK.
This is the same 3D object (view previous page) being viewed at a different angle. I wanted to simulate the view you would get from shooting with a zoom lens (90mm) from a slightly raised view point (like a cliff ).
40
41
When working on 3D objects I like to use multiple tutorials which I have noticed myself doing as follows: find one tutorial that focuses on the structure of the object I want to create; I then look for textures tutorials for these I make sure I experiment with a few and then I will probably mix the different methods together until I end up with something I am happy with. For this particular project I have had the chance to experiment with various method and pick my favourite water rendition. The tutorials are really helpful in giving me a basic structure to work with as I am still familiarising myself with the software. But I am noticing that I am understanding how to work the various tools available on Blender 3D and their effect on my work. This speeds up the process of making objects as well as the quality of the work; and I am looking forward to making more complex 3D scenes. However, I ended up being unhappy with how they came out and decided to manipulate the image within Photoshop to get away from the sea/ ocean look.
42
The image below shows my process of experimenting with the scene of the wave. At that point I had decided to go back to the texture of the first image I had produced but I added some smaller waves in between to give the illusion of detail.
43
Journal Entry Primary Research The “Nightshift” playlist is made to be played after work. The slower tempo and satisfying vocals, is meant to help put the audience at ease on they’re way back from a stressful day of work.
44
this is the first Nightshift cover I made using the 3D ocean I worked on. I was fairly happy with the way the water looked. I applied a black and white filter, increased the contrast, reduced the dark values and added a noise filter to mimic the ilford xp5 film look.
I then made a few alterations to the to the water to make it look more realistic by adding more detail and foam. I also experimented with placing the camera at different angles to figure out the most aesthetically satisfying composition. I am not happy with the composition on the final image. One it makes it hard to read the label and two the water seemed to be make a better representation of the playlist on the cover above.
45
I am really happy with the way these images came out the shades of pink and purple i ended up with represent well the soft tone of the song. I moved the night shit text to the top because when pl;ayed on my phone it appeared to be hidden the by play button. I am still to test it out on an Iphone.
I realised early on that I wanted to use pink for the cover of “Nightshift” I therefore started experimenting with different shades and colour combinations. I also experimented with different angles and effects to put on the water. I struggled with making the water appear as I wanted it to in 3D, as it did not look as realistic as I wanted it to be. I decided to add a “gradient map” over the third image down. Which I believe worked a lot better than the black and white or original image.
46
https://soundcloud.com/mariusxmozz/sets/nightshift https://open.spotify.com/user/mariusxmozz/playlist/42K5okHHseETl4QinCLdpx?si=hQYOgtFKQn-KDzjBZeOHOQ
47
if video not visible follow this link: https://youtu.be/ d742FmPkA2M or open with Adobe Acrobat
This is a test of animation I have made using a combination of blender (to create the png sequence), Photoshop to convert the png sequence into a video and after effects to edit the look of the animation. I think this is an effective way of creating animation from blender 3D and I plan on doing more of projects like this.
48
All of the playlist have been mixed by me and my friends, I had ask for opinions on the order the songs should go to as well as what songs to include and leave out. I wanted the playlist to contain mainly late 2017 and early 2018 music of upcoming artists. I am happy to see that most of the songs added to playlists when the artists had less then 10K plays are now doing really well.
I have made a third playlist Click here to listen
49
I want to update these playlists quarterly and have considered using my photography in the background of those playlists however think there is a good opportunity for experimentation there too Bellow are some examples of photos that I had tested to use in the background of the playlists. I think that if I had developped this idea further I could have ended up with something interesting however I decided to focus on 3D design for this project.
50
I have featured an original image to show the editing that I did to the image in order to make it suitable for the shoot all the photos were taken on a 35mm canon point and shoot.
51
Evaluation
At the start of this project, I had set out to make a Cycling zine for Birmingham cyclists. I wanted to experiment with new mediums while relating my project to a town and sport I was familiar with. A couple of weeks later I decided to change the direction of project to a cycling blog but I still struggled with motivation. I then decided to make a few playlist for Birmingham commuters. The idea was brought forth by my rising interest in hip-hop: according to the Birmingham mail “west midland commuters spent on average under an hour commuting to and from work (as of 2015). thought making the playlist around an hour long (15 songs) would be best as I don’t expect everybody to like every single songs on there. I am aware that in order to reach the audience I am looking for I would need to consider ways of advertising the playlists. I thought that by advertising them on social media platforms such as instagram and behance would enable me to focus not only on the Birmingham audience by using tags such as: Birmingham and West-Midlands but it could also provide me with a more focused niche on creatives (the behance community). As for the designs, I have further experimented with 3D objects. However I wasn’t pleased with the way they came out and decided to go for solid colour background. I had also considered making use of animation as a tool for advertising. Overall, I am happy with the way the designs came out. I believe they represent well the aesthetic I am trying to develop in my future work. They also represent my current interest. I have also took
52
the opportunity to use my sketchbooks as tool to work layout designs. As I am becoming more interested in editorial design. I think editorial design would be a good way for me to link graphic design, photography and fashion. They are big interests of mine that I want to be involved with after university. This project has helped me better strengthen my desire to experiment more with print and physical objects: I wish I had taken the time to make physical Disks and covers out of this project.
Thank You
53
54