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Christmas Task

‘Starry Night’ by Vincent Van Gogh

“I don't know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream.”-

Vincent van Gogh

The visual artefact I chose to write about is the painting ‘Starry Night’ by the famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh. I’m attempting to analyse this painting according to my notes from the ‘Questioning Visual Materials’ lecture discussing semiotics, and the points I thought stood out the most. I will start by mentioning some facts and a brief history of the painting followed a short analysis.

Starry Night was painted in 1889 from a room in a mental asylum where Vincent Van Gogh was recovering from mental illness. Removed from the experience of painting on location that he was used to, the painting was composed from memory and scraps of earlier work in the morning from the view out of a window at night.

‘Starry Night’ is a painting of the village Vincent Van Gogh was living in at the time. In the foreground, a dark tall cypress tree stands to the left of the view, revealing the calm village buildings at night with lights showing out of a few of them, painted with a palette of dark blues and greens. Above that, Vincent Van Gogh portrays the chaotic yet dreamy night sky and brightness of the moon and stars with vibrant shades of blue and yellow.

For me, the painting shows what Vincent Van Gogh might have felt whilst painting ‘Starry Night’ in the loneliness of his depression in a small room in the mental asylum, looking at a view of an almost claustrophobic village and a society that he didn’t feel he belonged to, and away from painting in an open space where he could daydream and paint in the quietness without the noise of society. I think the way he painted the night sky, and the vibrant colours he used were a brilliant way of turning his suffering into something beautiful

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Making Histories Lecture

Imagine you are going to curate an exhibition on the history of your discipline. Compile a list of 10 practitioners (or specific pieces of work) that you would include and write brief notes on why. 

1. Lindon Leader:  Lindon Leader is a graphic designer responsible for one of the cleverest logos; utilising negative space in a way never done before. 

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2. Carolyn Davidson: The designer of the ‘Nike’ logo. 

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3. Jonathan Barnbrook: Designer of David Bowie’s album, and was known for his influential type design. 

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4. Michael Bierut:  "I like people who, in talking about their work, scratch below the surface. Don’t talk about typefaces and Photoshop effects; talk about the subject matter, and how that interested and inspired you." 

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5. Peter Saville:  Peter Saville is best known for his record sleeve designs for Factory Records artists. But his sleeve work spans five decades. Saville is one of the most prolific record designers of all time, if not the most prolific. 

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6. Saxon Campbell:  Saxon Campbell is a branding specialist, conceptual strategist and accomplished graphic designer based in Brooklyn, New York with a focus on consistent design solutions for established brands and new startups. 

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7. Anna Dunn: Illustrator and designer with a bold and colourful style.

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8. Zim&Zou: Two French graphic designers,  they focus on installations using handcrafted objects made out of tangible materials such as paper, wood and thread.

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9. Alessia Sistori: Mexico based graphic designer who has a passion for minimalism.

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10. Butcher Billy:  Butcher Billy is a freelance designer and illustrator based in Brazil. His style is distinctly unique – combing a bold colour palette with comic book figures to create tributes to classic pop culture icons.

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Visual and Cultural Hierarchies

make a top 10 list of your favourite practitioners in your field and consider what it is about their practice that you value

1. Zim&Zau: 

Zim and Zau are two French artists located in France. The two designers create illustrations using handcrafted objects such as paper, wood, etc. I love how the artists’ work is very colourful, simple, neatly done and seems almost realistic.

2. Alessia Sistori:

A graphic designer from Berlin, I like her design because of how minimalistic and simple they are, I also like her neat packaging style.

3. SocioDesign:

A design studio that creates contemporary brand identities, packaging solutions and digital experiences for a diverse range of premium brands, ranging from boutique start-ups to global businesses. I personally like their minimal style of design and the use of bold colours.

4. Emma Stokes:

A British designer with minimalist designs and simple illustrations.

5. Ji Lee

A Korean designer and typographer living in New York, I like his simple and creative designs.

6. Hydrogene:

A graphic designer and illustrator who combines both to make very unique designs.

7. Luke Choice:

A designer with a vibrant and unique style, his designs are colourful, bright and mostly in 3D.

8. Dschwen LLC.:

Dschwen LLC. is a collaborative studio of designers that churn out beautiful, colourful and engaging works.

9. Pavlov Visuals:

Pavlov Visuals is a collective of designers that work to produce beautiful, sleek graphics. I like the general simple style of their designs and how they combine illustrations in designs.

10. Jacob Eisinger:

This designer works in 3D, he designs 3D type and illustrations, and uses vibrant and bold colours in his designs.

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Glossary

definitions and research on terminology in the set reading and its relation to graphic design.

Autobiographical:  An autobiographical piece of writing relates to events in the life of the person who has written it. 

Truism:  A truism is a statement that is generally accepted as obviously true and is repeated so often that it has become boring.

Pedagogy:  the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.

Transgress:  go beyond the limits of (what is morally, socially, or legally acceptable).

Inquisitive:  having or showing an interest in learning things; curious.

unequivocally:  in a way that leaves no doubt.

Schism:  a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief.

Socialism:  a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Depoliticisation:  To remove the political aspect from; remove from political influence or control