Design Publication

a r c h i v e

o f

i n f l u e n c e

a n d

i n s p i r a t i o n

E X T E N D E D P R A C T I C E

O U G D 6 0 5

A n

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volume 1 W i l l

J e ff r e y

This of

publication

topics

and

acts

as

inspirations

an

archive

that

have

influenced me, and my practice, during my time on the Graphic Design BA (Hons) at Leeds College of Art.

Creativity is something I believe is wonderful and should be part & parcel of the design process.

Bringing yourself out of the comfort zone to take risks; explore innovative ideas; experiment with new techniques and unfamiliar skills. This is really the only way to think outside the box and develop work that is unique and original.

H u m o u r, a n d w e i r d n e s s , a r e e x p r e s s i o n s t h a t r e a l l y influence my practice, and personally I feel that, when they are used in the right circumstances, can really improve the delivery of a message, and the overall success of communication. I believe laughter is the best medicine, and if you don’t have a sense of humour then you are not human, therefore I always try and take a more comical approach towards d e s i g n . M y o w n s e n s e o f h u m o u r i s u n f o r t u n a t e l y, very weird and childish, so I am often inspired by things that carry these traits.

I find design can be very strict and mundane sometimes, therefore I am always drawn towards work that encompasses some kind of fun and playfulness. The things that you can enjoy; interact with and engage with, are always going to be the things that you remember more. Or at least that is what I believe.

I think having morals and values is something that e v e r y o n e i n t h e c r e a t i v e i n d u s t r y s h o u l d c o n s i d e r.

One thing that puts me off graphic design is its a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h d e c e p t i o n a n d d i s h o n e s t y. I l e a r n t a lot about this during my COP studies and although it may be something that can’t be avoided in a job, I think you should always be aware of what you are saying and how you are saying it. Design is an extremely powerful tool - it can be used for good, but it can also be used for bad. I want to be a practitioner that uses my skills for the good.

Skateboarding is something that has influenced my practice from the beginning, as it was the first ever thing that made me want to design. I was always obsessed with how visual the whole scene was - the abundance of crazy board designs, stickers and DIY zines. The brash and illustrative styles of design really stood out to me, and without a doubt inspired me to want to create similar things. I think the fact that skateboarding is quite a non-conforming, anarchistic culture, it rubbed off on me a bit and changed the way I think about a lot of things.

Similar to the skate culture thing, street art and graffiti has also been a big inspiration throughout developing my practice. It is not something that I directly do, but it is something that excites me, engages me and motivates me. I love how there are no rules, it doesn’t have to make sense, it takes risks and it’s so creative. Again, the non-conformity and rebellion of it as a practice also appeal to me.

Without the doubt, illustration is my ultimate inspiration and what drives my practice. From character design and c a r t o o n i n g t o t y p o g r a p h y, m y r e s p o n s e t o e v e r y p r o j e c t i s influenced by this and how it can be incorporated into the solution. I feel my skills are much stronger in illustration than they are in design, which is probably why it has always been my focus and passion. I love the idea of bringing fantasy to life, distorting the world as we see it and just the fact that all it requires is a good old pencil or some pens.

Printmaking has influenced my practice quite a lot throughout t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h i s y e a r. I t h a d b e e n s o m e t h i n g I h a d unfortunately disregarded since starting the course, but coming into this year I have gained a new-found love for it. I have had a lot of difficulties and negative experiences with digital print, so the idea of being in full control of the process really appeals to me. I love the way each print is unique and how you can be much more experimental within the process. As well as this there is much more of feeling of satisfaction and achievement when you use traditional printmaking methods.

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Branding & identity are areas of design that I have tried to focus within my practice, and I believe that when done well (and honestly) can be a wonderful thing. After researching into the subject’s past for my COP though and kind of stripping it all back, there were many aspects of it that have put me off. Primarily the idea of ‘branding’.

Branding is all about money and always has been. It is not directly about graphic design, it is about creating an idea for people to buy into. It is about strategy and business. Graphic design is merely the tool to communicate this idea.

Identity design is simply about developing

a strong,

unique identity system through the process of intuition and c r e a t i v i t y.

Its aim is to create a sense of pride for the p a r t i c u l a r t h i n g i t i s f o r.

T h e t w o t e r m s a r e n o w u s e d i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y, a s d e s i g n companies have now become more strategy based and business orientated due to clients demand for ‘branding’.

Though this is the case, I think it has been really good for me to learn about the differences as it has made me think differently when approaching branding projects. I believe strategy and business are important things to be considering, b u t o n l y w h e n i n t u i t i o n a n d c r e a t i v i t y a r e c o n s i d e r e d e q u a l l y.

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Product & packaging design is something that I am really interested in, but unfortunately have not had much of a chance to explore as much as I had hoped. I love the idea of developing new concepts and thinking about how the audience can interact.

F i n a l l y, a n i m a t i o n h a s p l a y e d s o m e w h a t o f a p a r t i n influencing the way I think and design. I think animation is a g r e a t w a y t o k i n d o f p u s h a n i d e a f u r t h e r. I a m f o r e v e r thinking about how I could turn something static into something with more life, and after learning the basics, it is definitely something I am going to continue to pursue.