Selfie:
This project was not my favourite but it forced me to think about everyday activities and how to document them in a visually pleasing and interesting way. I think experimenting with homemade filters at the end of the project was an interesting part of my project as it made me think about how snapchat developers create their filters.
I chose to document the images in black and white in order to show the images in a series. I also felt that the colours in the original clashed and didn’t compliment each other well.
Moving forward I have learnt to consider the use of every day applications and mobiles in art and design .
Blind Date:
This project had ups and dones - it was interesting to work with a partner and help each other to reach their goals visually. I learnt from the collaboration experience and also having to share time and space with another individual.
The outcomes of the project were both successful and unsuccessful - I was generally happy with the visual outcomes which the photographs had - however the brief was to create an image which told information about the documented person and although i used hula hoops and different bright coloured filters to show her youth and fun side - I didn’t feel like there was enough uniqueness to the images which really defined HER.
The Alchemy of Design:
This project was initially difficult for me. I struggle with science and science-based research. However I used TED to learn information (often spoken in easy English) about gravity and about different elements of science. Fortunately one of my team members had a strong and confident understanding of physics and was able to help me to understand some of the more academic research. Having experimented as a group with film and layering sound fx over the film (we used apples to represent objects in the world which are pulled together - gravitational pull) I decided that I would push the project further once working individually.
I had been keen to start learning how to animate sequences digitally - moving away from stop motion. I learnt the fundamentals of Adobe Animate in order to animate a character falling (which I had designed in Adobe Illustrator) . I used cheesy sound effects to hold the viewers attention and also to provide a fun and humorous product.
Type:
Having never experimented much with type I was excited to start this project.
I started by researching famous typographers and designers (see website) before experimenting with a letterpress. Having achieved a couple of outcomes I moved to the risography machine in order to learn and experiment a new piece of equipment I had never used before - furthermore I have become very interested in zines and so the risography machine seemed like the perfect place to learn a new skill.
I used adobe illustrator to design over 50 compositions using fonts such as Futura- a high impact Vorticist font- and also my own font designs which I had achieved by compiling basic shapes. (See website). Having completed the experiments I rejected several images due to a lack of (easy) legibility and instead focused on compositions which were better at communicating the information they held.
I eventually went back to the letterpress and have since worked on a few personal projects- such as the Latex print (see website)
Extraordinary Books:
This project had several set backs. Initially I was unwell when this project was due to commence and this prevented me from working to a more efficient timeline. However once recovered I went on to design two “extraordinary books”. The first piece was a concertina, zig zag style book containing triptychs of sliced panoramic images of African Skies. (As I had been in South Africa visiting my family). I was very happy with the outcome of this piece, I decided to use a concertina as it adds an element of flow to the book, also I felt it helped to portray the vastness of the skies. I chose to slice the images as I was influenced by social media layouts - mainly the Instagram grid. I looked artists accounts such as Roksanda (fashion) and ASAP Rocky (music) who had often split images over different thumbnails in a grid.
The second project was to stamp poems on to laces- I was inspired to do this by a friend of mine who carries a poetry book with him whenever he travels. I decided to stamp them into laces as many poems (the ones used especially) have a sense of traveller, journey and experience hence I deemed it fitting to use laces as my canvas as they go on shoes (the sign of a traveller). Although I was happy with this process and outcomes - the biggest error for my project was using a less heavy ink- this has caused most of the writing to fade from a black to a green ink quite quickly - making the poems less impactful and visually different to the initial outcome. However I am to an extent happy they have faded as they are on shoes and meant to allude to adventure and exploration - which should cause the laces to change and become marked.
Change it Now
This project consisted of lots of trial and error and exploring several different paths. As seen in my concertina process book about this project, several different outcomes were reached for several different campaigns. I thoroughly enjoyed compiling research (see website) and learning about different advertising and campaign techniques. Although i was happy with the final outcomes (a film to raise awareness about hearing loss) i was disappointed with my lack of continuity in this project. If i were to repeat this project i would start by creating a brand which was recognisable and constant throughout all the work - this would entice the viewer and let them know what/who they were watching from the start. Although i experimented with mediums such as Film and Posters, i didn’t feel like i really push this project to the limits of its capability. In a future project of the similar nature, i would like to have written the music/soundscape for the informercial, instead of using a Copyrighted track - as although i felt it conveyed the mood very well, it perhaps made the project less authentic.