Flixonase.

For this brief we had to take a set of instructions for a nasal drop product and re-arrange into a typographical layout which would be easier and more appealing to read. We were set free reign with the wording of the instructions so could remove parts that we felt weren't necessary or took up too much room.

I have to admit that I did struggle with this brief at first. Having not dealt with typography as such for a while, I wasn't quite sure on where to go with the layout and what was really being asked of us. However after a good chat with my lecturer I managed to make a start on re-wording the text and began placing it all in what I felt would be an easy-to-follow layout.

 

The first five instructions that appear are how to use the product and the remaining two are how to apply the medicine. I felt that these two different parts of the instructions needed to be separated and I believe I did this effectively with the bold text going horizontally across the page after the fifth instruction. To the right of the instructions are some bold captions which are the warning part of the instructions. I wanted to place them next to the relevant step so that the reader doesn't skim over them and miss important information.

I used Myriad for the font as it is legible and keeps that 'clean' look to the work. 

Dentures.

I was contacted by the supervisor in the X-ray department at the Birmingham Dental Hospital and asked whether I'd produce a purely visual sign/handout to help tackle the language barrier problem they sometimes come across with patients. I needed to create something that would inform the patient that they needed to take their dentures out before having their x-ray done.

This was a great opportunity for me as I'd get my work seen publicly. I wanted to give the hospital staff and patients something fun and engaging whilst also keeping in mind that it needed to be understood by someone that doesn't understand English very well. 

I did a few sketches, but wanted to dive straight into this task. I kept the design simple and used a a few hints of colour to highlight the most important parts of the image.

 

It didn't take me long and I was really pleased with the final result. The feedback I got off the staff was brilliant and I hear the signs are being used to great effect.

Case Study: Caslon.

As part of the first year we had workshops once a week where we were taught skills in using the Adobe software and were set tasks to check on our learning progress throughout the module. One of the tasks we were given during the session was a case study into a particular typeface. Not only was this going to test our skills using InDesign, but also how we dealt with layout, kerning, etc.

I was given Caslon to look at and I just fell in love with the contour of the lowercase 'c'.

 I'd like to do a few more case studies on different typefaces like this in the future as I believe it could be a real big help when trying to find the right font for a particular piece of work. It would be great to have a catalogue of pages like the Caslon one I did to get an idea of each different element of the font.

Decadence.

Our first live brief was handed to us in the last week of my first year at university. It was quite a thrill, but somewhat nerve-wracking knowing that we would have to make sure the standard of quality was at its very best and that we would have to be impeccable with our timing and organisational skills.

We were asked to create an A1 poster for the Cheltenham Science Festival 2010 with the theme for the festival being 'Decadence'. I had no idea at first what this word even truly meant and when I went to research into the meaning I found myself being confused even more. This caused a bit of an issue at first when trying to come up with ideas, but after a good sit down with my sketchbook and pen I started to understand. 

The final idea that was chosen focused on the decadence of one's self. How the human race have so many needs and demands to fuel their luxurious lives that we are slowly destroying our planet. I saw the final piece as having two sides to decadence; one being luxurious and rich, the other being the decline and deterioration of the earth thanks to our own lifestyles.

   
This was the final image that we went with - a luxurious hand trying to support the deteriorating earth. Originally the image had a smaller flame but I was told that it looked too small and resembled the Olympic torch more than anything. Also I tried the image with smoke instead of flames to show that the earth had already been scorched, but that meant the message of the image would change. It would have said that we'd already damaged the earth instead of in the process of doing so. In the end the above image won and although I'm not entirely pleased with the overall look I'm pleased what was managed in the time-space we had considering my skills at the time were fairly limited.

Title; The Path To Global Destruction.

Toilet Sign.

Taking the conventional and well-known toilet sign and turning it into something new I thought would be quite difficult. But after the brief was set and the list of environments was revealed I saw an opportunity to use wit within my final piece. 

One of the environments given was a nightclub and I knew straight away what I would do. I would stick with the traditional, internationally-recognised signs for male and female toilets, but add the element that I feel much resonates with a nightclub. My idea would be to place the image of a brain in the area on the male and female toilet signs which highlights their thoughts and intentions whilst being intoxicated. There was some debate during the hand-on presentation whether I was seen to be sexist, but my response was simple. From my view men only have one thing on their mind after a few beers which I believe I have shown in a very obvious way with my toilet signs.

 

 

F is for Futuristic.

This was a short brief given to make us think about letterforms. We were all given individual letters and numbers to take away and come up with a theme relating to whichever one we had received. I was quite anxious as to what I'd end up with as I didn't like the idea of getting a number or a letter such as 'V' or 'Z'. 

After being handed over the bit of paper with 'f' scrawled upon it, I immediately started thinking of themes beginning with my letter that I could try and work into the shape. Time and time again I was being drawn back to my idea of doing something futuristic. It wasn't an obvious choice and I knew I'd be able to do something really creative with it. All I had to do now however was find a font that would fit with my theme and that I could mould into a futuristic figure. To do this I visited dafont and scrolled through many a page to find something that fit within my theme. Then I came across Alien Lines.

 

The lowercase 'f' was perfect for the futuristic figure that I wanted to create. The circular head of the 'f' looked to me like the head of a robot, bowing down in sadness or misery. This was the font I would use for my A2 sized letterform. 

 

My robot came out exactly how I wanted. You can see from above that I used the Alien Lines 'f' shape as the basis of the design and decorated my figure accordingly. He was made using cardboard, silver wire, aluminium foil, grey paint and black marker pen.

Recipe: Chocolate Crunch.

I was watching the new series of The Hairy Bikers the other night and couldn't stop the thought of trying all the delicious recipes that were being cooked and eaten. So many tasty looking dishes were appearing infront of my eyes, but there was just one that I knew I'd have to get the recipe for - Chocolate Crunch!

An old school favourite that used to be served with pink custard, the nostalgia was definitely there. Not only a favourite of mine, but I know my dad's partial to a bit as well. I'm hoping to make us some on my next visit home. No pink custard unfortunately, but I don't think that'll be an issue.

If any of you out there fancy making some yourself, here's the recipe I got:

1 ½ oz Cocoa
9 oz Lard
3 Medium Eggs
15 oz Granulated Sugar
15 oz Margarine
36 oz Self-Raising Flour
Caster Sugar to sprinkle

1. Rub fat into flour, add sugar, cocoa and the eggs.
2. Press mixture into a baking tray, mark edges and prick the top with a fork.
3. Bake in a moderate oven (150ºc) until firm.
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with caster sugar.

The recipe I've got doesn't tell you how long to bake the crunch, so I suggest you just keep an eye on it. I can't imagine it taking that long to cook though.

Happy baking to those that are going to get crunching on this classic!

FMP.

Final Major Project. The end to my foundation degree and the work that helped me to get a place at university (along with my portfolio of work from the pathway stage of my course).

 

Unfortunately I'm missing the poster I did relating to smoking, but for my final major project I focused on the effects of alcohol, smoking, caffeine and drugs on an unborn baby. I wanted the series of posters to be quite shocking, but not gross. I feel I managed to put across my point well with the imagery I chose to use. Also I didn't want the style of each poster to be the same. I saw this as an opportunity to remove myself from my comfort zone and try something different.

The final set up for the posters really worked well. I created a doctor's surgery effect by painting my section of the exhibition in a calming, green colour and printed my posters at A1, then mounted on some board. 

 

You can just about see the 'smoking' poster behind me. I was relieved when the work was finally over with and up ready for the exhibition. I'd had a manic week previous to hand-in, leaving important things to do til the last minute. I knew after choosing Graphic Design as my chosen subject during foundation that it was the right path to go down. I wanted to learn more about this area of design and I think taking the year after finishing Sixth Form to do the foundation course really helped me grow as an individual.

Jason Munn.

One of my big influences whilst studying for my foundation degree was Jason Munn. I can't quite remember now how I came across his work, but I remember being quite blown away when I saw it. His simple, yet elegant blocks of colour within his work really stood out to me and I was fascinated by the production of his posters. I had never come across silk screening before and have only tried my hand at it a couple of times during university.

I think his choice of hand printing each poster gives it it's own unique quality. There's something so caring about screen printing. Time has to be put into the production of each one and that's what really makes it such a wonderful thing to me. I'd love to one day produce my own series of work using this method. 

I also really like that he uses his own drawings along with clip art, found images from old catalogues and every day items. He makes the most of everything around him and manages to turn it into something outstanding.

 

These internet images don't do his work any justice at all, but I just wanted to show you a couple examples of his work. It's so clean original. I'd love to own a print or two of his work!

No Friends But Empty Chairs.

My first ever taste of a Graphic Design brief was at college during the Pathway Stage of my foundation degree. We were all given a large booklet of quotes (which I still have at hand incase it comes to call) and were asked to pick the most interesting to us. One that stood out. For me it was "No Friends But Empty Chairs." It was that idea to me of being in a crowded room full of people, yet you still felt alone.

The concepts I began coming up with were shot down pretty much straight away by my tutor at the time. She said they were too easy and that she simply hated them. I had the determination after that to go away and prove that I could do something better. In the end I produced this:

 

At the time I was so pleased with the outcome. I loved everything from the type to the colours I'd chosen. However, this was my first time dealing with typography and I believe my lecturers now might have something to say about the placement of some of the words and legibility of the paler text on the image of the chairs. It's nice though to look back at past work, like this piece, and compare to how I work today. A lot has been learnt over the past couple of years and I feel that my confidence in design has grown too. 

Visual Studies.

This was a class that I took as part of BTEC National Diploma in Art & Design at college. Although it was a couple of years ago now I still think about it and how much I loved every single class. I used to wish that we'd have a whole day in the studio instead of a couple of hours once a week. My tutor John was absolutely lovely and inspiring. He used to bring in some of his own work at times after much pestering from the class and he's modestly show us. 

Drawing has always been a part of me, but I feel that those couple of hours a week I used to get really helped to develop my skills. I learnt that speeding up my drawing process made for a more interesting and different style of illustration which I still put into practice and use in my work today. It was also the place where I had my first ever life drawing classes and with not being a strong drawer of people, I feel more confident now whenever I am faced with having to draw the human body.

My favourite pieces however from my time spent there are two illustrations I did on the skeleton.

Hot wax on ink.

 

 Mixed media piece using acrylic paint, pastels, conte and charcoal.