Application and Interactions
My Reflection
In this week’s lecture the practitioners answered the questions ‘How do you visualise and develop your initial ideas?’ and ‘What are your points of inspiration. theories and references?’. They spoke about their thoughts and ideas on the approach of their project process, which had a great insight that was familiar with them all. A thorough and carefully considered research is key to a successful outcome to an idea and concept. We should look at research from a perspective of angles from sitting at a laptop or visiting achieves to investigate your outcome. You could look at this as Sherlock Holmes when he’s investigating a case. It’s his research and motivation in solving a case that leads to an outcome of solving a problem. It’s usually the small piece to the puzzle that is easily missed from the beginning that brings the bigger picture together and makes it the outcome more interesting. Exploration needs to be recorded in the best way your comfortable in holding information and referring back to for your ideas. You can have a bookmark of information from the web, a sketchbook of words and images, or a map of a mood board that leads to your ideas. As long it makes a clear understanding of your brief then it will help you select the direction you want to follow. With a great amount of research, you’ll have a great opportunity towards the best outcome of your idea.
Inspiration should come to us through life experiences and reference of criteria that benefit to the outcome you produce. Vince Frost really stood out for me with his comment that ‘opportunity of inspiration is around us in abundance’. He’s saying we shouldn’t take for granted where are and where we live, we can learn and be inspired by what we have in front of us. Working across society is inspiring and putting yourself in a place that’s alienated by yourself can make you learn so much that can drive your outcome with the right inspiration you might not even be looking for. We need to dig deep and explore others’ ideas and techniques to help us as individuals to find our own true voice and style in our ideas. Immersing ourselves into a project will get the full flavour and insight into an idea that can lead to new ways of developing ourselves in graphic design.
Further Research
This week and the following week’s lecture I was really interested in Vince Frost’s self-initiative project of his book ‘Design Your Life’. I found this such an interest as to why he describes his book as a process to bring value to himself as a person and bring values to others. I completely get this as I’ve struggled to deal with my own personal development as a designer and person (a father in all this). I really want to take the initiative of designing my life with the values of what Vince Frost discusses in his work. Applying principles of designing my life to find my flow by being more reflective, alive in my senses, more in touch with the people in my life, and more aware of my values.
From this research, I feel I can understand the value of this side project he began as a book and then developing it as a brand to reach out to others who have the same perspective as Vince does. Overall I love the idea this has to turn out to be as it’s really touched on points of people sharing their experiences of a designer and the impact in their own lives. This has become a great platform to share and care for other values that everyone can take a little bit of inspiration to their own life. I’ve listened to a few of these podcasts he has in the past and it has helped me with challenges and perspective as a designer and person. This is a great reference point of searching into the inspiration for other practices in different fields of design and writing that can truly benefit ideas. Vince Frost says ‘this book really inspires to work better at living better’ and I completely agree. So this brand ‘Design Your Life’ really brings inspiration and encouragement to develop ideas and learn new techniques for a designer that is looking for balance in life.
Failed It!
Erik Kessels
I recently purchase Failed It!, by Erik Kessel online at a bargain price of £3 and it’s such a great read. As this week’s topic, I found this relevant chapter on ‘The Tyranny of Perfection’ and absolutely loved what was said about chasing perfection will never be the reality of what you’re achieving. There were 2 great quotes that were said by Salvador Dali and Vince Lombardi (American football coach) :
Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.
Salvador Dali
We are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it…In the process, we will catch excellence
Vince Lombardi
Perfect is the enemy of the good. Free yourself from the tyranny of perfection! Never surrender!
Workshop Challenge
This week’s workshop challenge we had to develop five different mood boards to clearly demonstrate how we might research, develop, and apply to your self-initiated project. Select one direction from the five mood boards and develop five initial rough sketches that will then develop to the next stage of creating the outcome.
Research
The toilet paper shortage has become a meme
Rolling in the Aisles
Panic, Panic, Panic!
Five Mood Board Directions
Emotion of Panic Through Projection
In my first direction with this in mind I wanted to refer back to my module 1, week 9, Message Delivered where I wanted to project my message onto a building in my local town. So I thought this would be a great and fun idea to develop a typographic form that is projected onto outdoor space with messages that can be fun, witty, and impactful meanings. I would look into kinetic typography that can give this motion effect an engaging approach to the installation of a projected visual.
Screen Print Collection (On Toilet Paper)
My next direction I was thinking about creating a series of screenprints with messaging that brings humour and wit through the experience in the social behaviour of panic buying toilet roll. I’m quite interested in the work by Anthony Burrill as my inspiration example and would consider this as a pop-up shop to sell these screen prints with t-shirts too, plus an exhibition of the artwork. I also consider the material to print on, thinking of using toilet paper or texture that is familiar to screen print these.
Packaging Design with a Meaning
I wanted to think about packaging pieces and using the power of branding a sustainable and ethical approach with a witty identity & brand that hits on people’s perception of their actions and social behaviour. This would also consider the consumption of how many toilet rolls can be sold at one time through the packaging. This can lead to partnerships with food banks for those that need essentials in poverty areas of the UK. For example, every 2 rolls sold a roll is donated to the local food bank for essential needs.
Book Design
This direction I wanted to think about creating a book design with toilet paper and packaging that enlightens people with some fun facts, witty gestures, and content of people’s social behaviour. Not entirely sure how the look and feel might be but it can be a challenging concept. Depending on the research that is gathered this book will be based on live events through social media, news outlets, and information on social behaviour. Hopefully, it could be a hit and people will be panic buying this for a toilet read.
Social Engagement
I started to think about the social engagement that the impact of panic buying had on everyone. So this direction was going to be based on a social platform that communicates messages in a witty and playful gesture through research of people’s behaviour on social media. I’m not to clear where this direction can take me but I need to explore a bit more in the idea around social engagement and design. Do I create a fake account that sends alerts of what supermarkets are stocked up to experiment with the social aspects? This could be a more experiment project with social engagement of platforms that can have an effect through word of mouth.
Five Rough Visuals
Here are my sketch ideas for my direction that I have chosen. I’ve gone for the ‘Screen Print Collection (On Toilet Paper)’ direction with a combination of producing a publication of the work. This feels like it can an evolving piece as it goes on with the research and content that I will gather.
With my thoughts, I’m visualising the outcome with the use of strong typography, monotone imagery, and high contrast colours. These are my first initial thoughts depending on the content I want to explore and give the right tone of voice for the audience.
My sketches are based upon exhibited prints for a small pop-up exhibition showing a number of key social behaviour messages that can be projected through screenprints in places across the UK. This is where other merchandise can be created such as t-shirts, postcards, toilet rolls, and booklets of all the print artwork.
Inspiration
Rethinking the method
Lino Printing
Re-thinking the medium I’m going to use due to circumstances of not having access to screen printing facilities or tools I’ve looked at an alternative solution of printing with Lino techniques. This can give the same effect but on a smaller scale such as postcard sizes.
Ideas Wall
Week Reflection
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