Wednesday, 22 December 2010

The Snowman


I went to a screening of Raymond Briggs 'The Snowman' today, surrounded by about fifty children under the age of 10. Stood out like a sore thumb. Did I care? No. On a big screen you really notice every detail in the the beautiful moving pencil illustrations. Classic Christmas animation which definitely put me in the festive mood!
The best bit... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubeVUnGQOIk


Monday, 13 December 2010

Project Review

13th December 2010
Over the past few weeks I've been working on an ISTD live brief; Mutton Quad. The idea is to brand a typographically themed restaurant, Mutton Quad being a working title. I decided to run with it and after some experimentation and development I came up with a visually literal logo of a quadrilateral on 'mutton' legs. I felt it was simple and sophisticated targeting a professional, money-no-issue audience. The aesthetic of the restaurant is rustic grey/brown, metal/wood which reflects the traditional print and letterpress rooms. The lime green acts as a contemporary colour lifting the darker shades. The letterpress theme is subtle but consistent throughout. Food served on square plates upon old galley trays placed on wooden tables with 'mutton legs'. The restaurant is a hidden gem in the city. Exclusive and somewhere you feel proud to dine at. I felt my presentation feedback was positive and has given me the confidence to keep developing work over the festive period! Hurah!

Sunday, 12 December 2010

'Fayre Well' Degree Show Fundraiser


9th December 2010 
Had a fantastic day getting involved with our degree show fundraiser. Alot of hard work and planning was put into the event - A vintage clothes sale, screen printed t-shirts, tea and cake, fruit cups, Henna and Christmas cards! I worked on the card stall and had one of my designs printed with an envelope ready to be snapped up for a mere 50p (or 6 for £2.50!) We made £96 on our stall and a grand total of £697 in total! Teamwork works! =)

Two Day Workshop with Ian Anderson



1st / 2nd December 2010
I was invited by a fellow student to join a workshop run by graphic designer Ian Anderson. I was quite nervous about this opportunity but am very pleased I took part in the activity. Our task was to represent and pitch a colour to be used to represent a governing body in the future.   We were put in groups and given the colour red. The idea was to think outside the box and avoid existing and negative connotations - red having many such as Labour, danger, anger and propaganda. We eventually decided on red being festive; warm, happy and secure. We tried to recreate this feeling by giving out warm mulled wine at our pitch showing red could be felt, smelt and tasted. We created a small animation of a present being unwrapped revealing layers of wrapping paper displaying the words 'warmth', 'happiness' and 'security. This concept expressed the idea of giving - which is how we wanted the 'future governing body' to be represented. Our presentation wasnt the strongest of all the groups and we got the following feedback from Ian...
"settled for their warmth idea too quickly, it was woolly. there was a sense of them going through the motions, nice touches at the presentation although they were under-rehearsed, nice animation ideas but there wasn't really a feeling for me they were desperate to convince me. they made it difficult for themselves BUT what was good was that they were still pretty impressive and despite my feedback i thoroughly enjoyed their work as much as the others"


...which was true, but learn from mistakes! I really enjoyed this workshop and had the opportunity to work with people on my course who I wouldn't normally get chance to. All in all good fun! 

Monday, 6 December 2010

Lecture from Joana Niemeyer for April Studios



31st November 2010
I found Joana’s lecture quite informative with regards to freelance/client relationships. The idea of working in a small studio environment and keeping costs down, i.e. not having a colour printer, really hit home. I think it made me realise how many facilities I have access to at university and how much I take them for granted! I liked the selection of logos Joana had designed for a small children’s fashion brand ‘Sam+Rose’. She said it was important to try and keep designs concise when showing clients by picking the best 3 and showing them in colour, black and white and with some sort of application. This way the client has a clear set of options and isn’t bombarded with concepts. I think this would be beneficial when I’m pitching my work in crits; to have some concise ideas I feel confident with instead of lots of tatty development logos