As part of the Design Publication that we have to produce as part of the Extended Practice Module, Ben from Ditto Press will be doing some workshops with us in the year.
To start with, Ben gave us a talk on the work that he has done and his influences
- Didn't go to Art School until later life
- Made Self Indulgent work- Caravan Installation (Traveling Exhibition) and get commissioned to produce work for it
- Arc Student Magazine- Became Editor- Likes Art Directing as its not designing but there is a need for design with it
- Founder of FUN Magazine- Was a journalist at VICE Magazine
Ditto Press
- Done Ditto Press for 5 and a half years
- Riso-graph Printing was the most appropriate method for publishing
- Grown as a business- Print books (80%) and publishing of books (20%)
- How what you are influenced/ interested by can influence your work
- Methodology- Interviews and Photography
Could you produce a manual that would show show someone how to think/ work like you?
Given Brief
From here, we were put into groups (I was in Group 3) and we tried to think of ways that we would research when given a brief.
Trying to work out my methodology
From our discussion around the table, we made a list of ways in which we could source information ranging in different types of gathered information, such as primary research (Interviews, Trying something for yourself, Photography, Drawing, Events and Visits) as well as secondary research ( Documentaries, Library, Online, Data Collection).
Ben came to our table and asked us what we had come up with, so we discussed the list we had come up with, however, we were told that these are not proper research methods and that we needed to come up with how we individually work towards answering a brief.
From this, I made a step by step list as to how I answer a brief and how I approach it. To show this, I made a flow chart showing the how I do this for a brief. The only individual methodology I could think of was how I spend a lot of time during a brief constantly making notes and writing things down.
Despite this, Ben again stated how this is wrong because we all had a similar way of approaching a brief.
At this point, I was frustrated and confused because I didn't understand how I could be wrong when I was being honest with how I approach a brief. It just didn't make any sense to me.
List of possible rules
At this point, the only thing we could think of doing was starting to make up some design rules that we could use which would make our method of working more interesting. This started off being a list of random ways of generating ideas or possibilities yet they seemed rather far-fetched. I followed this by trying to think of things that happen to me every brief but I didn't think these came under the umbrella of methodology. In the end, I wasn't any clearer than when the workshop began.
Initially, I understood the brief we had of trying to produce a book where someone could work in the same way as you, however, the more the day went on, the more and more confused I got. We have been asked to come up with a methodology for the next session but I honestly don't know where to begin.
We have been given a 1 day workshop project being taught by Dr.Me. Firstly, they gave a presentation as to the style of their work and how they started as a studio.
Dr, Me Design Studio
Manchester- based duo who set up their own studio
Think you should be able to do anything creative, not pigeon-holing themselves as Graphic Designers
Mainly do work which is Posters, Record Sleeves or Self Directed Work
Prefer the tactile approach to work- making by hand alongside digital components
Have a DIY, Photo-montage aesthetic style
Always take images used for work from magazine cut-outs and original photography- never Internet
Keep in touch with contacts through email and meet ups
Don't like using computers straight away on a project
Always start in the analogue before moving to the digital
365 Days of Collage Project- 1 new piece of work everyday for a year (So far 145 days in)
Following on from the briefing, we were then given what would be our brief for the day to work on. To do this brief, we were given until 4pm as the deadline and put into pairs based on the register. I was partnered with J'nae.
Given Brief
The brief was to produce 3 briefs in the space of a few hours so we knew what it would be liked if we ever worked with them as this was something they did on a regular basis. Working as a team within the collaborative partnership we had to produce a Vinyl Record sleeve, a poster and an individual 2D psychical piece of work.
Brief 1: Vinyl Sleeve
For the vinyl sleeve, we had to produce some imagery for a new mixtape called Duga- 3 by an artist called Evian Christ.
To start with, J'nae and myself decided to research and brain storm individually before coming together and discussing our ideas. I based my idea generation on solely listening to the music whereas J'nae took more of a research role for her ideas. From this, we then had a discussion over what we had come up with.
Spider Diagram Idea Generation for Duga 3
The music gave me the impression of being unnerving and unsettling, like it was hypnotic and a form of mind control. It reminded me of music that would be used in an art video installation piece at an art gallery exhibition. I felt like I was being confined despite the empty space that would be had in a gallery. J'nae's research had led her to looking at frequencies and the Russian Woodpecker, which at the time was thought of as a form of mind control. We both agreed that we liked this concept as our main basis.
Design Ideas for Duga 3
I did a couple of sketches to try and visually show what I meant and two main ideas came out of the discussion. The first idea was the conception of using a pattern of circles, starting small in the middle and getting larger like a ripple to show sound particles but the pattern coming across like a maze which links to the hypnotic control. The second concept was that we would have one of the Woodpecker machines in a brain with electricity signals acting like sound frequencies as brainwaves, highlighting the mind control element. J'nae mentioned about the feeling of texture and grittiness when listening to the music so we wanted to include a pattern or texture within the imagery. We both agreed that we would have no words on the cover and it would be in monochrome so that it would reflect the discomfort from listening.
We decided to combine these elements to make one whole artwork. J'nae is very good on Photoshop so it felt right to let her produce some textured imagery and circle manipulation whereas I prefer working on illustrations so I was to produce the brain electricity imagery.
Initial Line Illustrations
I began my approach to the brief by starting with an outline of an anatomically correct human brain and a line sketch of a Russian Woodpecker.
Placement and Sizing
I started by placing the Woodpecker within the centre of the brain outline however, I soon found that sizing would be an issue because of the detail. I found that I would have to keep the sizing quite large so that I could keep the legibility and integrity of the illustration.
Wave Amounts
From the placement, I began to play around with the waves as I decided to have a connecting wave come from each pylon but I felt that this was too minimal, especially in conjunction with trying to show brain activity so I decided to add interconnecting waves which instantly made for a more interesting aesthetic.
Brain Shape
I wasn't convinced on the shape of the brain as I felt that it was quite inanimate and looked more like a blob then a defined brain shape. I tried separating the lobes by a line through the middle and having the Woodpecker in the centre along the line but it looked messy and clustered so I decided to have a space separating the lobes with the Woodpecker in the middle, as if it was the reason that the brain was being held together.
Brain Development
From the brain shape being changed, I added in the detail of the brain waves which gave the work a more authentic look. Another thing I did was change the lines of the brain wave frequencies from normal lines to dash lines as this gave the look of the waves plotting their path within the mind, emphasising the control.
Finished Brain Illustration
Following this, I showed J'nae and she suggested making the outline of the lobes thicker than everything else so that it was more realistic and I have to agree with her suggestion. So that it would be visible on the work J'nae had created, I inverted the colours so that it would be visible on the black background.
Following this, I went onto experimenting with the visual pattern I had produced from the lines.
Development of Pattern
I decided to see if I could produce an extended pattern of the waves of the brain just as experimentation as I wanted to see if I could take it further. I felt that this gave the imagery a bit more mystery and was open for the audience to interpret as they liked.
I was really happy with the feedback that we got as a collaborative from Dr.Me as they liked the visuals that we had produced and the thought process behind them. The feedback for J'nae was that they liked the chosen texture she had produced but liked the original version. The feedback I got from Dr.Me filled me with confidence as they actually liked the illustrations that I had produced, especially the last ones and wanted them included into the design but in the black outline.
Following this, we took my design and added it to the texture that J'nae had produced to make a collaborative mash up.
Finished Design
Duga-3 Vinyl Mock Up
I am very proud of the vinyl designs that we have produced as they have a professional quality, fully collaborative and have a strong conceptual idea which was led by the music. Not only that but that clear collaborative link within the image is clear to see which I think shows how well we worked together to produce it.
Brief 2: Poster Design
For the poster design, we had to produce a visual for a gig for the band Odonis Odonis.
So that we would be able to produce an informed design, this time, we both took the approach of listening to the music together and taking notes.
Odonis Odonis Thoughts
Based on the music, I made a spider diagram from what I got from it. What I noticed was the rough, gritty distortion that made up the music, with minimal lyrics which are incomprehensible when in use. I felt that this description of the sound should be part of the visual identity of the poster. J'nae noticed the visuals used within the music video with the use of shaky camera and filtered images which look like they could have been shot with an old polaroid camera, with lots of different colours which give a psychedelic feel. We decided to stick with these elements when coming up with a visual.
Design Ideas for Odonis Odonis
For the poster, we liked the idea of producing a kaleidoscope as we felt that this went well with the psychedelic visual identity of the band. Another main idea we liked was using old photo imagery with a filter which developed into maybe having a layout in the style of a polaroid camera with an image in a square and room in the bottom for the information.
We went onto working on our own posters to see how we would interpret the information. We both liked the kaleidoscope idea so we decided to develop this ourselves and see where it went.
Production of Hexagon Shape
For my poster, I started by trying to produce a kaleidoscope shape by making a hexagon out of two rectangles, altering the vectors and uniting them.
Development of Kaleidoscope
I continued with the hexagons by adding and layering the hexagons on top of each other with some being smaller than others to give the visual effect of perspective and depth. I rotated the hexagons around so that there was more of a mixed layout. To give the impression of movement and light, I added a range of different sized lines from the centre of the Kaleidoscope so that it looks like it is a moving object.
Visual Development of Kaleidoscope
To give the Kaleidoscope some more depth, I made a wheel of triangles so that it gives the impression of shattered glass which helped give the pattern more of an emphasis. What I wanted to get within my imagery, however, was the gritty rough distortion that was integral to the music. I decided to see what it would be like to use a charcoal line rather than the basic straight line to see if this would add to the visual. I liked the line that this created so I started to add this to all of the lines to make a very textured, distorted visual of a Kaleidoscope.
Background Texture
I thought to myself that if I wanted to produce this for real, I would want to print it on an off-white stock which would be textured so I wanted to show this visual. I used a off white cream colour for the background and used the grainy texture feature to add some varying texture which was to add to the gritty distorted visuals.
Type Choice and Placement
I moved onto putting the necessary information onto the poster working with initially Perputua Titling MT before deciding that the capitalisation of the letterforms was a bit too harsh so I decided to have the band name in lowercase. The aesthetic that I had produced gave me the feeling of using a serif font so I decided to go with Didot as it is quite whimsy. However, the lowercase didn't match the rest of the hierarchy of information so I changed it back to uppercase with a mixture of both fonts and weights so as to emphasis the hierarchy.
It was at this point that Dr.Me came and had a look at what we had done. They liked the textured effects that I had tried to produce digitally, particularly with the Kaleidoscope effect as it was really fitting with the band. What they wanted me to do was add a little bit of subtle colour so that it was more contextualised as to the visual imagery of the poster within the text.
Colour Experimentation
I started by just using a subtle shade of green added to the inside of the Kaleidoscope before putting it in the outlines of the poster and then inverting it to fill the words with colour. I felt that this colour choice was perhaps too subtle so I asked J'nae and she agreed, suggesting a brighter colour so I decided on orange to create a contrast between the dark line-work.
Layout Change
At this point, I was struggling with the layout so J'nae offered to have a go herself where she spaced out the information much more on the poster so that your eye would have to take in the full poster and be appreciated more rather than just have information at the bottom. I really admire J'nae's approach to layout as she has made use of the empty space and opened up the available room.
Odonis Odonis Mock Up
I feel that the final poster design stays true to the initial intentions whilst having a different approach to texture and colour.
Brief 3: Self Directed Piece of Work
Within this time as well, we had to produce a self directed piece of work for no reason other than just for creativity but it has to be a 2-D physical piece of work.
By the time it got to this section, we didn't have a lot of time left over so I felt it was only right that I produced something that would be quick yet fun.
Self- Directed Brainstorm
At first I was trying to think of things that I am interested in or would be good for me to stick up on a wall that I could refer to for my practise but then I realised that I was still stuck for choice so I decided to respond to the two words that they had written at the end of the sentence 'Be Brave'. I was thinking about what it was meant to be brave so I thought of maybe facing a lion or skydiving or stopping a robbery but I wasn't convinced about them. In the end, I decided to answer the brief head on by making an image which has absolutely no relevance to any work I was doing, therefore I decided to draw an ice-cream. Why? Because I was craving an ice-cream.
Ice- Cream Illustration
Originally, the illustration started as a outline before I started adding detail and eventually colour. I wanted it to look like a 99 from an ice cream van with sprinkles, a flake and strawberry sauce. I extended the length of the cone so that it looked more realistic with a hint of shadow and I went onto duplicating it and having one in strawberry and chocolate flavours too because I couldn't decide on what flavour ice-cream I wanted in real life.
Printed Illustration on the Wall
The self-directed pieces were then stuck up to the wall in the studio, which I felt was a lovely addition to the studio as well as showing all the different approaches and ways that we think of making for ourselves.
With the inclusion of the mock ups I had made, I made some submission boards for the module submission to demonstrate the journey of the brand and how I came to this conclusion.
I feel that the boards that I have produced shows a very condensed yet clear development of how the project progressed.
Overall, I enjoyed the 1 day workshop that we had working with Dr. Me as it opened up my eyes to how it is like in the real world trying to juggle so much work all at once. It was intimidating at first, especially with thier style of design being completely different to mine, but I was surprised at how well the briefs started coming out, especially the vinyl cover one.
On another note, I really enjoyed working with my collaborative partner J'nae because we have never worked together one on one and we totally bounced off each other in regards to ideas and energy. I had a lot of fun working with her and would happily do so again.
