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Reflective Journal, Bethany Green

I have found BA1B very fast pace and demanding, and at times not very likeable, but I have enjoyed it overall. Although I didn’t enjoy the film project I learnt how to use Adobe Premier to create films and animations, and I also self-taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator to create my film drawings. I found learning about these exciting as they weren’t my usual choice of illustration: I prefer to use a medium on paper, and I don’t really like digital things. These are skills that I don’t want to forget, and I am hoping that in year 2 I will be able to expand my knowledge of these two softwares and use them more often. As I said, I didn’t enjoy the film project as this isn’t a way of working that I like because it took a lot of time and patience; I think that maybe if we had a bit longer time scale then I might have enjoyed it more. However, I went into the project with an open mind and willing to experiment, but I discovered that overall it just wasn’t for me. I also found it difficult to start the project as I didn’t know what to base my film on, and in the end I ended up doing Norwich Market. Because of the delayed start to this project I found it very difficult to fit making my film into the five-week window. As a result, I ended up spilling over into the publishing project. For next year I need to learn to time manage better and to ask for help sooner to prevent this happening again!

The Publishing project was by far my most favourite project of the whole year. I enjoyed learning how to use InDesign to publish a book. I was going to use InDesign to make my book, but I had difficulty printing it out as I couldn’t remember the way that was taught. This is something that I need to learn for next year by going to the Design Studio desk and asking as I feel that I may do more publishing in year 2. Because of this issue I ended up producing my book by hand, which was easier and quicker, however, if I was intending for it to be mass produced I would need to think about printing it digitally. Furthermore, in the publishing project I really enjoyed learning about typography and colour and how these have an effect on how the reader interprets it. I wish I had done a bit more studying on the typography of the Victorian era/early 1900s as this would have helped me to create better typography for my book.

To start with I found the collaboration task very daunting as I was working with people who I would never usually choose to work with. I really liked this though as it helped prepare me for the world of work in the collaborating creative industries as I won’t be working with people who I want to/like. Although I did find it a struggle to put forward my ideas as often my group were very forward with what they wanted to do. Despite this though I feel that my communication skills have improved a lot, and also I have spoken to members of the public at the illustration event, which is something that I honestly never thought I would do!  

I didn’t realise that I am supposed to write about the lectures that I attend on my blog, but I have posted photos of my lecture notes. This is something that I will take on board for years 2 and 3 as this will help me also with artist and primary research; both things that I have really struggled with for this unit! To also improve my primary research, especially for essays, I need to visit more exhibitions which relate to the work that I am doing. Also, for the future, I need to find the confidence to send emails to illustrators/collectives to ask them questions about their work; this would be great first hand research for my essays and I feel it would definitely make them stronger too.

I have enjoyed BA1B as I have learnt lots of new skills and techniques, including digital skills and communication skills, which I can hopefully build on in year 2. One thing that I am also starting to learn is to time manage properly! This unit has been so fast paced I have found myself struggling with my time management skills. This unit has, hopefully, prepared me for the demands of year 2, so I will know what to expect and how important it is to constantly update my blog and write mini reflections at the end of each workshop/project.

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Industry Report: Collaboration,  Bethany Green

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Self-Publishing Report, Bethany Green

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Below are some pictures of our game assembled together at the Forum. I am very please with how it looks, although it was a bit larger than what our tables were! To overcome this issue we separated the tables apart so that the game would stand on the table and not end up leaning or falling off the side. 

^Our game complete and together. 

^The metal (top) (by Lewis) and Earth (bottom) (by Lauren) element boards.

^Fire (left), wood (right), and water (far right) boards.

^The counters are on the fan- each counter represents and element. The number spinner was for players to spin to see which animal card they would have. 

^Close up of my fire board.

^Wood board. This was constructed using mostly lollypop sticks. (by Josh)

^Water board (by Sophie). 

^The temple which was placed on the top tier. The idea was that one of the players needed to get into the temple to be crowned the winner. 

^Close up of the Earth board. 

^Sophie made cute little polymer clay Chinese zodiac animals to place on top of the temple. 

^Close up of the volcano. The tones on the rocks show up better in the light in the Forum. 

^Our improved, and less complicated Rule Book. 

^The public interacting with our game and looking at it,

^A member of the public playing our game. 

I was very anxious about the Forum event as I am not very good at talking to strangers! However, as the day progressed I became much more comfortable with what I was presenting and I became more confident with explaining the rules to people. One elderly lady asked me questions about the process and our theme, and I explained to her who we are and that we have made a game influenced by astrology and the processes that we used to make it. She was very impressed with the processed we used and the overall outcome. I did find talking to her quite daunting as there were some questions that she asked that I didn’t understand. I overcame this issue by asking her to elaborate what she meant, and eventually I was able to answer her questions. I am very proud of myself for this!  Lots of people gave us very positive feedback, and they said that they wished we were there for more than just one day! People who played our game said that it was “really fun” and they encouraged their friends to play too! 

Unfortunately we didn’t have anything to give people when they made it to the temple as a prize. We should have made some little stickers to give out to people as this would have added extra fun to the game, after all you’re never too old for a sticker! One problem with our game was that it was quite tall once it was placed on the table, which meant that it was quite difficult for any children to play. To overcome this we should have thought about this more- we were more concerned about the table not being big enough and didn’t think much about the height. To make the game more accessible on the day for children we could have got a small step for them to stand on, but in all honesty I don’t think children would have understood the game. Another problem we encountered was that a lot of people would come and look at our game, but they thought that it was a model and not a game; because of this we had to encourage people to come and play our game. This could have been improved by placing a sign saying “come and play the Zodiac game” ,or something like that, around the game where people could see it. 

We worked well as a group today as there was always at least one person on the stand and we all seemed to be equipped with sufficient knowledge about our game, and Chinese astrology. Also we all helped with the construction and carrying of items, which again shows that we worked well. 

Overall, I am happy with our outcome and the way that we worked together as a group as we all chipped in- no one was left doing nothing. We had good communication within our group, although there was one person who seemed to make all the delegating. I was asked to make a volcano for the fire, but I thought that a dragon would work better as we were basing our final thing on Chinese astrology, but the group was already too focused on having a volcano that they side swept my idea. This was quite frustrating, but I learnt that when working collaboratively you aren’t necessarily going to get your own way! I am very pleased with our outcome though and how much time and effort we all put into it! 

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It has taken us about two weeks to make the boards for our game. Each person within the group was given a board to work on- mine was the fire board. 

^We used foam board for the bases of our tiers. I panted mine with yellow and orange inks, and I then brushed over it very lightly with black acrylic paint to create a very burnt look. However, once I had applied the inks to the board it started to bow and the sides started to bend upwards. None of us realised at the time but the liquid from the inks had absorbed through into the foam which expanded it and led to the board bowing. If we had known this prior to purchasing the boards we would have invested in something a little bit better, perhaps MDF board which is much sturdier and won't bend. 

^I used foam to create the volcano, as foam would be easy to cut and shape and it would also act as rocks much better than if I used newspaper, for example, as they would be cut into rough shapes and newspaper is pretty difficult to do this with. One problem I found with using foam was sticking it down. This was virtually impossible. I used PVA glue, UHU glue, and Gorilla glue and none of them were successful in sticking the foam together. This became quite a big problem as I was running out of time to create the volcano...

^...To overcome the issue of the foam not sticking down I decided to paper mache the volcano together. This was much better as it held the volcano together, and it would help to make it much easier to paint too! This was quite a long process though as it took a while to cover all of the foam, and then it took more time to cover it so that it was smooth (no bits of paper sticking up) and then I had to wait for the whole thing to dry before I painted it. 

^I painted the volcano grey and orange to start with, but I wasn't very happy with the result as it didn’t look much like a volcano. To improve this I decided to get some ash from a woodburner, which I stuck around the volcano- this was to help replicate rocks and minerals found on a volcano. I Then decided to stick pieces of paper out of the top of the volcano to represent lava. I then finished it off by placing some wire wool in the centre of the hole at the top of the volcano, which I painted red to represent lava. This was much more successful as I had added elements to the volcano to enhance the 3D nature of it- had I have just used paint and glue this wouldn’t have been so successful as they are 2D and very flat. 

I also added more bits of foam to the board to replicate rocks and I placed tissue paper between them to act as flowing lava. This was successful as it started to look more like a fiery land. Although, one issue I have with the board is that a Volcano isn’t very traditionally Chinese. It might have been better if I had based the fire element on a Dragon as this screams China more than a volcano does. This could be down to a lack of communication within the group and me not putting my idea for a dragon rather than a volcano forward to them. 

^I had initially drawn and stuck down some little snakes and horses to go around the volcano, as snakes and horses are the two zodiac animals under the fire element, but I found that someone within my group had taken these off, which I was a little bit upset by. However, I remained quiet and didn’t say anything. Looking back I should have put my view across and said that I wanted them to remain on the volcano as they are part of the fire element. 

^All of our boards together completed. Sophie made some pillars from wood which was then painted grey and had Chinese lettering written on them- the lettering was the elements and animals within the Chinese zodiac. These will hold our game up. 

From bottom left going clockwise- Sophie made the water board; Josh made the wood board; I made the fire board; Lauren made the Earth board; and Lewis made the metal board. 

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For this task we decided that we would make a large scale game based on the Chinese zodiac. As a group we made a small scale model of what we want the game to look like- on tiers going in order of the elements starting off with the first element water, then moving to wood, fire, Earth, and finishing on metal.  Below is an example of each tier and what will be on them. We will use the cards that we made for the Chinese zodiac game board we made for task 2. 

We decided to create a game for the Forum event as we had already made a small game and it was very successful and interactive. The idea of making a game for the Forum event is so that we can make Astrology appear fun to the public, and not just a load of crap. Through this the idea is that people can learn  new things by playing the game, for example they can learn lucky/unlucky numbers and colours by looking at their card, and they can learn about the elements- I didn’t know that there were elements in the Chinese zodiac until I started this project! Through this interaction the public may, hopefully, ask questions about astrology and want to know more about the subject. If this is the case it might be handy to create some little leaflets or books for people to take with them as we may not remember the specific answers to their questions, but we could write a little leaflet all about Chinese astrology which people can take with them and read (and can also act as a back up for us if we are asked!). Hopefully this will change peoples perspective on the subject. 

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For this task we decided to base our book on the Greek Zodiac, so we sectioned our book into four (one for each element- fire, water, air, earth) and we put each star sign in the element section that it is from. We wrote down details of the characteristics and what is important to that start sign.  

The way we collaborated for this project was really successful, as four of us each did one start sign from different elements to start with, and once we finished that we rotated so we got a different element, and so on until we had finished the 12 star signs. Although the pages are all done using different mediums, they still flow and work well against each other as they have all been created following the same layout pattern and type (for the titles). The fifth person researched what the information to put on each page. This worked really well as we all got involved and no one was left not doing anything and because of the way we structured the rotating of the pages we didn’t double up on the star signs- this was a big concern of mine as doubling up could have very easily occurred had there have been a lack of communication in the group. Fortunately, my group communicated with each other lots so this wasn’t an issue. We used various different materials to create our book, my favourite being plastic. This is because it is a unusual material to find in a book, and also because we were able to put items between two pieces of plastic which represented all of the elements. I like the types that we have used for the titles as they were influenced by the Ancient Greeks, which fits in perfectly with the theme for our book. 

The feedback we got on our book from our peer critique was incredibly positive! Everybody liked it and thought that it was amazing and very well thought out and constructed. Although we didn’t get any critical feedback, I feel that there was one problem with the book; this problem being the way the book was bound together. We bound it together using small metal eyes and string. This wasn’t ideal as the metal eyes either broke off or they wouldn’t stick down, and also the string wasn’t bound together very neatly. As a result, this made our book very fragile to handle, which could have been a bit off putting for some people who maybe wanted to have a look inside it but felt that they didn’t want to break it. Although a different way of binding the book together may have been quite difficult to do as we used lots of materials for our book, including plastic and thick card. Because of these materials it would have been a bit difficult to use a traditional book binding method. Maybe if we were to go back and try and fix the book, using larger metal eyes and sticking them on with a very strong glue might have worked better.

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I have done some experiments to represent each one of the elements (Earth, water, fire, air) from the Greek Astrology for task 3- publishing. This was fun as it allowed me to experiment with different ways and materials which I wouldn’t normally do.

Water- I initially burnt some acetate for fire, which created some holes and melted the plastic but other than that it didn’t do much. So, I decided to paint over it using different shaded of blue to represent water. Because the acetate had melted it had misshaped, which I thought would be a great way of representing waves, and because of this it is very interactive as it makes me want to keep touching it because of the unusual way the plastic has melted. I am very happy with the result of this because it actually does represent water very well, and also because I am surprised and excited by how well it turned out! I would love to use this as a page for our book, or at least to represent the water element.

Air- For this element I created two potential pages to represent air; The first page I used felt and half stuck them down onto paper so that they lift up when the wind/it’s blown under. Although I didn’t think that this was a very successful page as it kind of didn’t really represent air unless you properly study it, or are told that that’s the element it represents.

Air- The other page I created was putting little drops of ink onto a piece of paper and then blowing the ink around the page with a straw. This was quite interesting as it created quite fun and funky patterns and colour combinations when bled together. Although, again, it is quite difficult to tell that it is supposed to represent the Air element unless you are told. This could be quite confusing and when people look at the book they may not understand the relevance of the page design.

Earth- To represent Earth I used dirt and mud, which I stuck onto paper. This looked ok and it obviously represented Earth, but because of the gritty texture of the dirt it made it pretty much impossible to draw, or write, or stick anything onto the paper, which obviously isn’t ideal for a page in a book. However, because of the textural side to the paper I think that it would be good to incorporate it into the book through a textural section, where readers can touch what that element would be like, although that would be quite tricky to do for fire!

Fire- I burnt a piece of paper carefully to try and get the black, scorched marks and holes within the paper. It didn’t really look as though I had set fire to it, so I coffee stained the paper which created a very old, burnt looking piece of paper. I like this as it looks as though it has intentionally been burnt, and it would be good to use to represent fire. Although, it doesn’t show colours that relate to fire very well. It would have been interesting to see how this would have looked if I had maybe put some red/orange/yellow inks over it- maybe this would have represented the colours?

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For this project we wanted to create something small that people could interact with so we decided to create a Zodiac game board, using each animal from the Chinese Zodiac as your card, and using the elements as counters. We created the game path in the shape of the Leo constellation as this was the easiest and simplest constellation to follow to keep the game straight forward and easy to follow.

^The Leo constellation which was the path of our game.

^Card place holders, influenced by Greek Astrology. There was a lack of communication on our group for this project, and as a result the Greek Zodiac was used for the borders when it should have been Chinese. 

^Close up of two of our cards, showing the animal, and its lucky and unlucky numbers and colours.

^Our game all set up. 

^’C’ cards. (colour cards)

^’P’ cards. 

^All 12 of our animal cards together.

^Card box which is showing the Greek zodiac signs. Again, because of a lack of communication the wrong zodiac symbols were placed onto the box. 

We created ‘P’ and ‘C’ cards that the players take when they land on a space that has either of those two letters on- a ‘C’ card is a colour card and this is then looked at against your animal card. A ‘P’ card is either lucky or unlucky as it may say ‘move forward x spaces’ or ‘move back x spaces’.

We used gold as the main colour for our game as this, along with red and green, is the primary colour used in Chinese Astrology, and culture in general. This has helped to create a more Oriental, authentic and mysterious feel to the game, and because of this it intrigues people to have a look at it.

This game interacted with people very well, although the rules weren’t very clear so it was a bit difficult to play at first. This was one of the bits of peer feedback that we were given on the game as the rule book was very messy and too wordy, which ultimately confused players. This is something that we need to address if we are going to create a game for our final piece. This task has given us a taste of what to expect for the Forum event because of the nature of our outcome today.

Without sounding vain I don’t actually think there is much to improve on as the game is interactive and it represents the different aspects of the Chinese Zodiac. Although, I do feel that the rules could be either changed or simplified, and also a different game path as Leo constellation is actually part of the Ancient Greek Astrology; not Chinese Astrology.

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The Chinese Zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao, is based on a twelve-year cycle, each year in that cycle related to an animal sign. These signs are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. It is calculated according to Chinese lunar calendar. It was created in roughly 202BC, and is based upon each animal's character and living habits.

^A small description about the personalities of each animal. 

Many people believe that Chinese astrology is the perfect way to make a relationship match! Whilst some signs are perfect matches some are less compatible or even born opponents! The best Matches for 12 Signs are as follows:

-Rat: Ox, Rabbit and Dragon

-Ox: Rat, Monkey and Rooster

-Tiger: Dragon, Horse and Pig

-Rabbit: Sheep, Monkey, Dog and Pig

-Dragon: Rat, Tiger and Snake

-Snake: Dragon and Rooster

-Horse: Tiger, Sheep and Rabbit

-Sheep: Rabbit, Horse and Pig

-Monkey: Ox and Rabbit

-Rooster: Ox and Snake

-Dog: Rabbit

-Pig: Tiger, Rabbit and Sheep 

^The years when each animal will be/has been the ‘year of”.

In Chinese astrology they focus on the planet Jupiter, and because it takes 12 years for Jupiter to complete one orbit the sun, hence why there is 12 animals- one for each year.

The Chinese calendar counts years in cycles of sixty years. Each year has a label consisting of two parts. The first component is the celestial stem being one of the five elements. The second component is the terrestrial branch being one of the twelve animal (zodiac) signs.

^The 12 Chinese animals and which element they are. 

Each animal has personalities that represent it, including artistic, arrogant and sincere. Whilst most people in todays culture use this as a bit of fun, particularly around Chinese New Year, many people back in the Ancient times, and some people today take this very seriously and treat it almost like another Religion.

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^I initially wanted to only find out the colours for each sign, but this grid is showing me lots more information, including characteristics. This would be good to use, or at least take note of, in the future as we may decided to do something interactive for the Forum event where we try and match people who have similar characteristics up through `Astrology. 

This has helped me to start to understand the colours that are used for each Zodiac sign, which I can take forward to my group so we don’t just use random colours that we particularly like the look of. 

Also, by just researching the Zodiac elements is helping me to understand the elements and what star signs are under which element. I was very surprised to learn that Aquarius is actually an air element; I would have thought that being water-based it would be a water element! This has been quite interesting to look at and learn from. 

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Constellations are groups of stars that are close together that make up a mythical creature/object when lined together (as shown in the images below).

They change throughout the year as the Earth orbits the Sun. This is because the Earth’s night-time side face opposite directions to the stars in summer and in winter. The constellations are what the Zodiac calendar is based on. Each month the stars appear to move to a position where they create a different object which Astrologers use to determine the Zodiac sign, hence the name ‘star signs’. 

There has been much speculation as to the origin of the constellations. Until recently it has been assumed that they evolved from the fancies of primitive imaginations, but research now suggests that they were designed as a pictorial scientific coordinate system.

One of the most famous constellations is ‘the Plough’, which spans across seven of the brightest stars in the universe. 

Above is the constellation for Leo. In late July/early August if you look for the brightest stars and line them together this is the type of shape that will be created. It is quite good to look at as it is a relatively small and simple constellation to find for a first timer, compared to the Aquarius constellation (shown below) which looks quite complex. 

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After being sorted into our Astrology group we went away and explored our subject in three different ways- process, colour, and objects. Below are some photos of our table top display: 

^The bottom (nearest) table represents colour, the middle table represents a process, and the top table (furthest away) represents objects. 

Colour-  For the colour section we researched the different colours within the zodiac circle (a replica of this can be seen in the image), which we then used to create some small little puppets of the zodiac signs using the colours as backgrounds. Whilst researching Astrology and its elements we discovered that gold is a colour that features heavily in the subject, particularly Chinese Astrology. We also found a chart that lists the zodiac animals and then next to it it states the colours for that animal. This gave us a good understanding of how we can use colour effectively throughout this project and make it relateable to the zodiacs, and not just use any random colours.

Process- We looked at constellations and how they are actually a large part of Astrology as this is what people looked at to create and understand a star sign. We looked at how this shaped Astrology and how this ultimately was the base for the twelve star signs. This was quite a tricky section to do as Astrology is generally quite confusing and complex (to some extent) to fully get your head around so we found it quite difficult to find processes about Astrology which weren’t too confusing.

Object- As objects we collected some small white balls which we combined with foam and metal to re-create some visual 3D constellations. These were quite successful as they were made from metal, which was easy to shape to how we wanted it. However, we only made two relatively simple constellations. It would have been quite interesting to see how we would have got on with a more complex looking constellation- Would it still have been successful? Would it have been easy(ish) to make?

I found this task quite interesting as it provided me with a more thorough way of researching and looking into a subject further. By this I mean I wouldn’t have considered looking at ways to make something 3D this early on in a project, even though it is only for experimental purposes. I did find this task challenging to start with as I literally had no clue how Object or Process could be combined with Astrology, but once we started communicating thoughts and generating ideas as a group this became much clearer and didn’t seem so daunting to me. I think that to have improved this task we, as a group, should have each done more research into finding more Processes and Objects as these were very difficult to come across, but because of the short time window this, again, didn’t really help us. 

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The 12 signs of the zodiac, with several associated animal constellations, were developed over 3,200-500 BC in Mesopotamia in a religious or ritual tradition. These were taken over by the Ancient Greeks around 500 BC. 

Below is each one of the twelve zodiac signs and their definitions; this is the Ancient Greek Zodiac.  

_______________________________________________________________________

Aquarius: January 20th- February 18th

“Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the zodiac, and Aquarians are the perfect representatives for the Age of Aquarius. Those born under this sign have the social conscience needed to carry us into the new millennium. These folks are humanitarian, philanthropic and keenly interested in making the world a better place.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Pisces: February 19th- March 20th

“Pisces is the twelfth sign of the zodiac, and it is also the final sign in the zodiacal cycle. Hence, this sign brings together many of the characteristics of the eleven signs that have come before it. ... The intuition of the Pisces-born is highly evolved.”

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Aries: March 21th- April 19th

“Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and that's pretty much how those born under this sign see themselves: first. Aries are the leaders of the pack, first in line to get things going. ... The symbol of Aries is the Ram, and that's both good and bad news.”

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Taurus: April 20th- May 20th

“Taurus, the second sign of the zodiac, is all about reward. Unlike the Aries love of the game, Taurus loves the rewards of the game. Think physical pleasures and material goods, for those born under this sign revel in delicious excess. They are also a tactile lot, enjoying a tender, even sensual, touch.”

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Gemini: May 21st- June 20th

“Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac, and those born under this sign will be quick to tell you all about it. That's because they love to talk! It's not just idle chatter with these folks, either. The driving force behind a Gemini's conversation is their mind.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Cancer: June 21st- July 22nd

“Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac, is all about home. Those born under this sign are 'roots' kinds of people, and take great pleasure in the comforts of home and family. Cancers are maternal, domestic and love to nurture others.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Leo: July 23rd- August 22nd

“Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac. These folks are impossible to miss, since they love being center stage. Making an impression is Job One for Leos, and when you consider their personal magnetism, you see the job is quite easy.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Virgo: August 23rd- September 22nd

“Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac, to be exact, and that's the way Virgos like it: exacting. Those born under this sign are forever the butt of jokes for being so picky and critical (and they can be), but their 'attention to detail' is for a reason: to help others.”

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Libra: September 23rd- October 22nd

“A balance weighs and measures; and so do Libra natives. Librans seek equality, harmony, and balance. The scales are also a symbol of justice. Libra's symbol is the only symbol in the zodiac that is inanimate (it is not represented by an animal or person).”

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Scorpio: October 23rd- November 21st

“Scorpio is the eighth sign of the zodiac, and that shouldn't be taken lightly -- nor should Scorpios! Those born under this sign are dead serious in their mission to learn about others.”

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Sagittarius: November 22nd- December 21st

“Sagittarius is one of the biggest travelers among all zodiac signs. Their open mind and philosophical view motivates them to wander around the world in search of the meaning of life. Sagittarius is extrovert, optimistic and enthusiastic, and likes changes.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Capricorn: December 22nd- January 19th

“Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac, is all about hard work. Those born under this sign are more than happy to put in a full day at the office, realizing that it will likely take a lot of those days to get to the top. That's no problem, since Capricorns are both ambitious and determined: they will get there.”

*I have used the website www.astrology.com for the short definitions of each star sign just to give you a little taste about what each sign is about. 

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Astrology is the study of the influence that distant cosmic objects, usually stars and planets, have on human lives. The position of the sun, stars, moon and planets at the time of people's birth (not their conception) is said to shape their personality, affect their romantic relationships and predict their economic fortunes, among other divinations.

What most people know about astrology is their "sign," which refers to one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac. This is a form of sun-sign astrology, which is the astrology upon which newspaper horoscopes are based. It is probably the simplest form, because nothing more than the date of someone's birthday is needed to generate a sun-sign horoscope. Although this form of astrology is so simplistic it produces very limited results.

The relationships between the celestial bodies and the Zodiac Signs, and their interactions are calculated and read mathematically. An Astrologer studies these mathematical cycles, the movements of planets and their effects of these planets on individuals, and predicts accordingly. The celestial system known as the Zodiac is divided into 12 Zodiac Sign, with each one attributing unique characteristics.

It has been practised globally, in many forms, for centuries. Many different cultures has different takes on Astrology, for example the Chinese use yearly animals to distinguish people’s personalities, yet the Ancient Greek used a combination of animals and objects monthly in their Astrology take. (The above image shows the Greek Astrology circle.)

^A clearer look at each of the Greek Zodiac signs. 

Astrology has been linked in to medicine as many people in the Ancient times believed that Astrology and their Zodiac would help heal them, and also each Zodiac sign had its own part of the body which it would ‘heal’:

Aries – head, face, brain, eyes Taurus – throat, neck, thyroid gland, vocal tract Gemini – arms, lungs, shoulders, hands, nervous system, brain Cancer – chest, breasts, stomach, alimentary canal Leo – heart, chest, spine, spinal column, upper back Virgo – digestive system, intestines, spleen, nervous system Libra – kidneys, skin, lumbar region, buttocks Scorpio – reproductive system, sexual organs, bowels, excretory system Sagittarius – hips, thighs, liver, sciatic nerve Capricorn – knees, joints, skeletal system Aquarius – ankles, circulatory system Pisces – feet, toes, lymphatic system, adipose tissue

Additionally in Western Astrology planets are also associated with certain portions and functions within the body:

Sun – heart, spine, and general vitality Moon – stomach, digestive system, female organs, lymphatic system Mercury – brain, central nervous system, thyroid gland, five senses, hands Venus – throat, kidneys, thymus gland, sense of touch, ovaries Mars – muscles, head, adrenal glands, senses of smell and taste Jupiter – liver, thighs, feet, growth, pituitary gland Saturn – skin, hair, teeth, bones, the body's defenses, spleen Uranus – parathyroid gland, neural activity, aura Neptune – pineal gland, psychic healing Pluto – pancreas, metabolism, elimination

Although, there is no actual evidence that Astrology and the Zodiacs have any truth about them and whether they actually predict correctly or not; I guess it’s just down to luck. Back in the Ancient Greek & Chinese times, people solidly believed in the Zodiacs and that what their Zodiac said about them and what will happen to them. However, over the years this has changed dramatically and today, although some people do still Religiously believe in them, a vast majority of people just think Astrology is just a load of crap because of a lack of scientific evidence to prove and justify itself. 

[bethgreenillustration-blog]

Project 2: Publishing

I decided to us a book layout like the one above as because I am doing a timeline I thought that this would work best as it would be easy to read and follow, which it is. In the end I decided to use a lower case type combined with a capitalised type, which actually works well against each other as there is the quite fun joined up font against a quite serious font- this helps to create a fun, but informative book that people will want to look at. However, one problem with the joined up font is that it can be quite difficult to read in certain parts of the book, which isn’t ideal. To improve this I should have been more careful when writing the text and been more accurate when judging the space needed for what I wanted to write. Also, I wrote down my text in pencil first before I went over it with pen. This was a bit of a problem as when I came to rub out the markings some of them still remain, or there are marks left in the paper from where the pencil dug into it, which has left my book looking a bit scrappy and unprofessional. I should have realised this when I was writing in pencil, and I should have used less pressure on the pencil. 

 I also decided to use the colour black mainly through my book as black is the easiest colour to read and it is the most traditional writing colour, but I decided to write key dates in colour. For this I selected bright, bold colours that would stick out and help people to remember them (as colours help memorise things better than monochrome). Furthermore, as I progressed through my book I did start using colour more frequently and black less often. This is because most of the new photographs that I have are in colour, so to fit in with this and make the book more visually interesting I wrote the text in colour. My primary colour was red as this is quite a uncertain and dangerous colour; something that definitely speculates the future of the waterfront! 

I am very pleased with the outcome of my book as it has a very personal touch to it as it has been hand typed and handmade, however I think it would have been much better if I had illustrated the old photos rather than use photos, but because of the short time scale to produce the book I was unable to do this. To improve this I should have managed my time better at the start of the project. This would’ve helped as I would’ve had a clearer understanding of exactly what I wanted to put in my book as initially I wanted to make my book based on the Wine Rack building along the waterfront, but I couldn’t find much information to create 16 pages based on this one building. I have thoroughly enjoyed this project and learning about the history of somewhere that I visit regularly, its just a shame that I couldn't go into more detail because of the time scale! I enjoyed learning about typography and how this helps with peoples’ understandings of a book. If I was to re-do this project I would do more research into the future of the Waterfront as I haven’t really found much, apart from what I already know (proposals for a Wet Dock Crossing, and the conversion of the Wine Rack development into apartments). Also, as the book is handmade I didn’t really think about mass production, as if I was to get it published on a large scale I wouldn’t be able to produce thousands of copies by hand; I would have to use digital software and printers. Although I did try to use InDesign I found it too complex to fully understand in the short five week project window. This is something I need to work on and learn for next year as I feel that publishing is something I would like to do more of in the future.