Photoshop session

My introduction to Photoshop was great. I had used the program a little in my previous ND course but was still lost on how to do some of the basics, so it was really good to learn all of the basics. Hopefully I can get Photoshop installed at home as I find it easier to work at home and it'll be good to explore all the different tools and processes.

London trip

I found the trip London a grim experience as I found London to be really hectic with everything going on around you. I didn't really know how to use the time before the Kyle Cooper lecture constructively. I really wanted to go to the South Bank but didn't quite make it there as I ended up in a group of people who weren't like minded. I haven't properly been into the centre of London before and it was a new thing for me. 

I based my Drift project around my thoughts of London, I combined an illustration with a road map of London then manipulated the image so that it would reflect the busyness of the city. I used the road map to represent the headache of London by adjusting the Hue levels and brightened it up. I had several different thoughts on how to show my opinion and ended up experimenting with several. I found it difficult to choose between the outcomes I produced as I was pleased with a couple.

Colour collage and Type with Tape Workshops

First was the collage exercise using a variety of coloured paper to create a piece of work that represents your experiences of Poole after the trip. I found it a difficult day as I couldn't settle on one idea and ended up doing something that I felt was poor. It turned into an abstract piece and when I compared it to what other people had done, I was quite embarrassed. When I got back home I decided to try again with some colour paper I had found and felt i had done a much better job. The finished piece was a lot smarter and worked really well.

The next day we were put into random groups to combine our thoughts and ideas to create our own Typeface in a day. To begin with it was a little bit awkward as we hadn't really spoken to each other too much. But we started off well as we went straight to the library to seek inspiration. I had picked up a book with many Typefaces based around Art Deco, and I found there to be several styles that interested me, which I then used to create my own style in my sketchbook. I am particularly interested in graffiti styled type so that's what I tried to head towards. We all experimented with different ideas and later had a discussion about every ones work to see what we all thought would work well. It took time to really finalise our idea but we chose to combine each of our styles to form one typeface which was "Coalesce" which means "to combine and form one whole". I thought the word and idea was great and I was determined to get it right. So we each chose one or two letters of the word (as there were 6 of us) and started to design the word on the brick work outside the Arts Institute. I think we were all very pleased and impressed at how well our work had come out. Admittedly i wasn't too sure about the exercise the night before as I didn't consider myself a fan of Typography but I have now changed my view.

Poole Trip - 30th Sept

Poole Trip - 30th Sept

The aim of this trip was to collect images of Poole quay and make quick sketches that capture your initial reaction to Poole. Being a local lad I felt it was more difficult to react to the surroundings in the same way as someone new to the area. It was interesting to make quick sketches of signs and people, in particular the people because I have captured a persons stance at a particular moment in time. I'm pleased with my photographs from the trip, I found the talk from Clive about the basics of photography very beneficial as it made me think more about what I was focusing on, especially angles and composition of the subject. He showed how important it was to keep your elbows tucked in to your body which enables you to keep the camera more steady. It would have been a good idea to make rubbings of the old styled road signs which shows how Poole has a real contrast between the old (such as the church and signs) and the new (shops and modern seafront flats). I prefer the old side of Poole as it makes the town more unique and independent from other towns.

Monday, 6 OCTOBER 2008

MONDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2008

Helvetica

I watched the Helvetica video today and began to understand the importance of text around me, and found myself taking more notice of posters and signs around me in the big wide world. It made me try todissect what Typeface is trying to communicate. I think that Helvetica is a useful type and important for signs conveying information such as road signs and warning signs. Helvetica is easy to read and makesinformation easier to absorb. On the other hand it's a bland and boring typeface which Neville Brody quotes during an interview where he says that is "bland, unadventurous, unambitious". I would personally prefer to use a different type which is a bit more creative especially if it is combined with an image. I'm still gaining an understanding oftypography and need to find the best way for me to keep myself interested as it's not my favourite area with art and design.