blogsamwrmit

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

BRIEF 3

FINISHED! After last minute adjustments and refinements, I finally finished brief 3. Id be lying if I said there wasn’t a sigh of relief when I finished, because I felt like I had been Juggling all assignments for each subject the past week, so it’s not a bad feel to have this finished. Overall I’m reasonably happen with how it turned out, yet I know there is plenty there that could have been improved, unfortunately I got a little bit uninspired and lacked a degree of creativity - predominantly due to the fact that it is the end of term. 

I did love however learning more about Keith Haring. He sounded like such an interesting dude. 

It’s also sad to have finished communication design as I loved having Shayna as a teacher as-well as the learning the content, but I’m keen to get stuck into our fourth-coming subjects Also.

The picture shown is one of the pages from my zine!  

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

FINAL LECTURE

Our final lecture reinforced the necessity to celebrate all designers regardless of their gender, culture and race – a lecture that couldn’t be more relevant to the world we are living in today.

One designer that intrigued me was Nina Katchadourian – an interdisciplinary artist who works with photography, sculpture, video and sound.

“Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style” (2010 and ongoing)” is her most notable piece of work, which consists of thousands of photos and videos that depict her wearing tissue paper toilet seat covers on flight in the style of Flemish portraiture in 15th century. I just the frivolous kind of nature of this, especially because I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

Image Source: http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/photography/sa-flemish.php

[blogsamwrmit]

Communication Design 

Brief 3

Last week I finally chose the theme and presentation style for our project, where I decided to create a segment that either a magazine usually does where they hypothetically interviewed an array of studios. I also wanted to have quite a simplistic design throughout the magazine to highlight Keith’s work, as his work was quite laid back in style but had significant meaning. I’m also planning on having scribbles and doodles throughout the zine to encapsulate his style. 

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

This week I stumbled upon Mason London, a freelance designer, illustrator and animator based in London. 

Due to my heavy interest in music and the electronic music scene, I frequently tend to find record labels and artworks for events locally in Melbourne and around the world which jump out at me primarily because of their design. From this i’ll usually try and suss out who the designers are and give them a follow on instagram to see the work they do everyday - a tool I use to get inspiration. 

For Mason London, I found him through a record label called ‘Rhythm Section’ and quickly gained interest in his work due to his motion animations and cartoon style designs. Despite his work being nothing but impressive, his style is probably not something I would weave in my work, however he still invigorates me to think outside of the both with my own work. 

Image Source: https://www.instagram.com/masonlondon/

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES 

Last week in class we had an activity in which we were required to show our classmates something that inspires us creatively. There were numerous that I was intrigued by, especially Lara’s oceanic style photography which inspires her fluid art that she does as a hobby. 

For me it was quite hard to pick out one particular thing that inspires me, because I’m a person who can get inspiration off many little things that I may see throughout the day either around the home, down the street or on social media. However, a couple of months ago I stumbled upon an instagram page called ‘Press_sf’, which is a shop in America that sells vintage books and types of books that are a rarity and may only have a few copies still around today. For example a personal favourite is called “classic country style and how to achieve it” (1990), and to some this kind of book may go unnoticed but for some reason its vintage condition and its contents weirdly inspires me to read it and also simultaneously inspires me creatively - and this tends to happen with most books they put up funnily enough.  

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

Lecture 11

Whats next in design?

Lecture 11 was super interesting, and also quite eery as it delved into the future possibilities for art and design. Covering the idea of immerging technologies and how designers can utilise new technology for their design and art practice.

Andy and Karen discussed parametric design, where we start seeing rules for type and logo design come to fruition again, similar to what we learnt in lecture 6 with the use of the grid. An example shown was through Pepsi’s logo, showing the many iterations that can be made using the same set of rules.

What I found super eery was the website called “thispersondoesnotexist.com”, a website using code to formulate a face from pixels which you couldn’t possibly differentiate from a real face. A creepy insight as how far technology can go and will go.

Image source:

https://www.danieldavis.com/parametric-typography/

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

Lecture 10

Lecture 10 introduced the notion of conceptualism, where art and designs were perhaps more focused on the actual meaning of the art/design, rather than the finished work itself. We see this come to fruition through Robert Rauschenberg’s ‘Portrait of Iris Clert’ 1961, which is a telegram that writes “this is a portrait of Iris Clert, if I say so”. Challenging the audience’s current perception on what art is, it’s an example that celebrates the notion that art can be whatever you want it to be, and can be interpreted however you like.

I was also intrigued by Gilbert Baker’s rainbow flag, an symbol that can be recognised world wide for the LGBTQ community. His idea behind was that he needed a symbol that everyone could understand, and because flags are neither a painting or logo and are known to represent communities - a flag was the perfect idea.

Sources:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7366555@N04/6478768729

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-rainbow-flag-universal-symbol-gay-rights

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

Lecture 9

Lecture 9 introduced us to the notion of post modernism. This movement is something I’m personally most familiar with, predominantly from my studies in high school through the course material we were subject to.

A response to the failure of the ideals and the promises that were fulfilled from the futurist period, post-modern art challenges the audiences preconceived ideas and ways of thinking, and does not entail one style of art or culture.

We see this through the punk movement, with the Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen single cover. Containing quite violent and dark connotations derived from the graphics used, with rough text scribed over the queen which thus provokes the idea of the queen being muted to some degree, and perhaps suggesting the band are having a stab at an established order.

Andy Warhol, an American pop artist, is an example of an someone who exemplified post modern ideas. Through Works that consist of repeated imagery via silkscreening, making a reference to America’s material culture at the time. Someone I’m definitely considering interviewing for our project.

Sources:

https://www.wallsauce.com/us/designer-wallpaper-murals/sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79809

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

Lecture 8

Lecture 8 revolved around the futurists, and the period where, as Karen described it, the time where future was something to strive for.

I quickly developed an interest and eagerness to learn more about Bruno Munari, an Italian artist, designer and inventor. Through his collaboration with ‘Almanacco Letterario’ in 1930, bringing attention to the trends of contemporary art and literature to a more professional and expert audience, he then collaborated with them in 1937 for ‘Almanacco antiLetterario” with a photomontage series called “Udite! Udite!” which translates to ‘Here! Here!’.

It was a collation of Mussolini’s speeches with very unmissable images and graphics of Mussolini himself, which was an ingenious ploy purposely undertaken by Munari himself, to indirectly mock Mussolini’s speeches. Quite an interesting history lesson.

Source:

https://www.italianways.com/munaris-clever-ploy-in-the-1937-almanacco-antiletterario/

[blogsamwrmit]

22/4/2020

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

Today in our class we went over our 5 potential choices for our next assignment, which gave me a little bit of clarity and direction on my choice thanks to Shayna’s help. 

My options were: surrealism, neo futurism, Andy Warhol, Antoni Gaudi and Keith Haring. 

Despite having 5 ideas I was tossing up, I already knew that I’d be doing either Warhol or Haring - simply because of my own personal fascination of the two. I now just have to choose one of them and find either an artwork or something with the best story to thus drive my interview questions.

Image source: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jun/16/keith-haring-tate-liverpool-review-sol-calero-el-autobus

[blogsamwrmit]

22/4/2020

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

LECTURE 6 / LECTURE 7

Lecture 6 thoroughly explored the notion of page space and the different way it was taught. Jan Tschichold’s ‘The New Typography Book’ is an example of how page space was becoming quite an important factor in type. The book connects with idea of have a balance of filled and empty space and how to apply empty space through type.

Emil Ruder’s ‘Typography’, is also another example this idea of space, but also reiterates in a systematic approach the use of images and type the effect it can have when use in a harmonious manner.

Through the quote, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed” Ernest Hemingway describe the fact that typewriting has become such a big part of him and has become an extension of himself.

Lecture 7 has been the lecture that i’ve had most interest in. It covered the Bauhaus, an art school in Dessau Germany. It was universally known for its holistic approach to design, becoming a huge influence on designs still today. Andy and Karen shed light on the german word ‘gesamtkunstwerk’, which translates to ‘total work of art’, and thus is a perfect word to describe the complete notion of Bauhaus.

“Bauhaus was not an institution, it was an idea” - Mies Van Der Rohe

Having an interest in type myself, my attention was definitely drawn to Herbert Bayer’s universal alphabet. Karen described it as a font that “collapses the hierachy between uppercase and lowercase” and thus merges them into a single typeface. In summation this another perfect example of the Bauhaus style, being true to materials and reducing work to whats essential.  

Image source: https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-typography/herbert-bayer/

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

LECTURE 5

I finally got around to catching up on the lectures as the last couple of weeks at home have been a bit all of the place.

This lecture fascinated me quite a bit as it introduced the idea of industrialisation and highlighting the decline of use of pen writing. This was explored by looking at mathematicians Luca Pacioli and Francesco Torniello and how they applied geometric specifications to Latin Capital letters, and thus being a catalyst for the shift from hand writing to a more standardised type of writing.

Andy and Karen then delved into Romain du Roi (1692), which a way a typeface that was created in France by using grids, and thus is known today as the first digital font and the first mathematically crafted typeface.

image source: http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-43481.html

[blogsamwrmit]

5/4/2020

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

ASSIGNMENT 1: ‘Hello, my question is...’

Assignment one was a task that allowed to explore a personal burning question about communication design. The question had to be an open question and to perhaps have a degree of complexity to answer and thus be able to provoke further discussion. 

We were given flexibility as to how we created the letterforms/words, but the medium in which we wrote our question had to have had a link or connection to the question we came up with.

It took me quite some time to formulate my question, which thus consequently hindered my progress on the assignment. I was thinking about the task numerous times a day to prompt any ideas, but I honestly felt Incompetent with the task, as I any of my idea were special or something that I wanted to use. 

It wasn’t until about a week before the work was due, the question i used became obvious. I was doing a random design on illustrator where the majority of the work consisted of just black and white, but I had accidentally changed one of the objects into a vibrant blue - which consequently gave the work as a whole a completely different feel and tone. From this, my question became clear, 

‘How can colour impact a design?’

After the first step was done, which ultimately the hardest part for me, I had to choose materials or a medium to make my question. I chose to cut out bits and bobs from magazines, as i usually found them to be a great source of vibrants colour and textures. Once, this part was done, I scanned the work and ran it through illustrator to lay the black circle over a small part of the question, where I wanted to create a contrast between the colours from the magazines and the black and white.

Overall I’m quite happy with how this assignment turned out, which I think is mostly due to having a question in which I had particular interest to.

[blogsamwrmit]

5/4/2020

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES LECTURE #4

This Lecture begun with covering the diamond sutra, a buddhist sculpture which was the first dated example of block printed, and then followed on to discuss Bi Sheng’s invention of the movable clay type. 

Block printing was also also further explored through its use in western europe, where block printing popularity grew as a direct result of its efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the book making process. 

The last segment of the lecture was most interesting to me as Andy went through the evolution and the use of black letter (gothic script) from around the 14th century to the modern world today. Andy also delved into Germany’s use of black letter, and how it grew its popularity due to German’s because of the darker undertones and simplicity. 

It was particularly fascinating to me how common the type is, as many brands utilise the text to this day, for example Jagarmeister, Disneyland, Mother etc. 

[blogsamwrmit]

5/4/2020

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

Lecture #3

In this lecture Andy and Karen quickly revisited what we went through in the previous lecture series, which was communication in the Mesopotamian era as-well as reiterating the idea of hieroglyphics being a mix of pictograms and ideograms.

They then later covered the earliest examples of writing in different parts of the world. Starting with China, we learnt about Fuxi - who was the inventor of Cangjie system for writing Chinese characters. Japan was later to follow, which looked at ancient manuscripts, highlighting the relationship between the fluidity of brush strokes and letterforms.

Towards the end of the Lecture, Andy and Karen went on to explore medieval scripts, and how scripts were standardised through the invention of punctuation and spacing, as-well as the new addition of different coloured letters inform the reader of a new phrase or a new important piece of writing. The book of Kells was then discussed, which educated us about illuminated scripts and the holy connotations derived from them due to reflective light. Being an extreme example of illuminated scripts, the Book of Kells also educated me the notion of books becoming an item of luxury.

Picture: Book of Kells, found on https://www.ouririshheritage.org/content/archive/topics/miscellaneous/book-of-kells

[blogsamwrmit]

Tame Impalas’s ‘Currents’ album cover, for reference to my latest post.

Source: https://www.robertbeattyart.com/Tame-Impala-Currents

[blogsamwrmit]

COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDIES

27/3/2020

Ive recently come across Robert Beatty, an artist based in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. His illustrations are to super fascinating to me, from the grainy texture that is frequently utilised throughout his work, to the abstract collages and aesthetic colour palettes that he uses, I have now become a huge fan of him.

Funnily enough I also found out he was the artist who designed Tame Impala’s third studio album, ‘Currents’, which is probably my favourite album out there.

Sources:

https://www.robertbeattyart.com/Neon-Indian-The-Glitzy-Hive

https://www.robertbeattyart.com/Idiot-Glee-Idiot-Glee