OUGD402 - What's on?

Christmas Light Switch on Leeds city centre:
Thursday 12th November 
Hosted by Dixie and Emma from heart breakfast.
Start around 6:45 Vitoria Gardens off the Headrow.

British Art Show 8:
Friday 9th October - Sunday 10th January
Overview of the most exciting contemporary art produced in the UK.
Leeds Art Gallery

Horsforth Christmas Trail:
Saturday 5th December
Market, festive stories, light switch on.
Horsforth Townstreet from 9am.

Brewers Market at Canal Mills:
Friday 6th - Saturday 7th November
3 day beer festival, celebrating craft beer, alongside guest wine, food & drink tasting, a Portobello Road gin bar, street food, live art and music!
Tickets £5/£7
Canal Mills Leeds

Leeds International Film Festival:
Thursday 5th - 19th November
Showcasing films
Various venues around Leeds ticket prices may vary

Alice in Wonderland 
Friday 20th November - Sunday 17th April 2016
Showing casing original manuscripts and illustrations.
The British Library, London

Wahaca presents Day of the Dead Festival 
Saturday 7th November
12 hour party celebrating the dead and the living, through the indulgence and debauchery of loud music, fine food and provocative debate, surrounded by beautiful art.
Tobacco Dark Wapping, London.

OUGD402 - Yorkshire Sculpture Park

On the 14th of October I went to Yorkshire Sculpture Park, this was to inform one of my briefs of designing a symbol for them. I found some of the sculptures really intriguing and some were beautifully crafted. It has given me inspiration for my own work on how the sculpture could be applied graphically in certain situations. I took lots of photos while I was there and I did enjoy looking around however some of the sculpture were set quite far apart so it was very tiring.

Here are some of the photos I took:

My favourite sculpture had to be the 'Octopus by Marialuisa Tadei' which was large scale and used bright, colourful mosaic tiles. I just loved how out of context it was placed in a green Yorkshire countryside because it made it really stand out. The use of colour also made a really bold statement which I really liked.

OUGD402 Vignelli Canon - Massimo Vignelli

Today I read the Vignelli Canon, and I found it to be an interesting view on the rules he follows to achieve the best design. However I do not agree with everything that Vignelli said for instance that desktop publishing was a 'disaster of mega proportions'. I don't agree with this because the creation of new typefaces has allowed for a wider selection to chose the most appropriate for your design and stand out as something different. However I do agree that some of them are unnecessary, and found it very curious to see the way Vignelli only uses a small amount of typefaces yet all his designs are unique.

OUGD402 LAW Magazine Issue 7 Launch

LAW Magazine Issue 7 Launch:

I went to the Village Bookstore in Leeds Corn Exchange where Issue 7 of LAW was being launched. I didn't know anything about the magazine prior to going but it was a really nice creative atmosphere where people were chatting with the editor and drinking free beer. It was also a good opportunity to look at the other publications within the bookstore. I think if I was to go to a launch again it would be a good idea to actually know something about the magazine before hand and I should probably engage with some of the creative people there. 

After reading the magazine on the train home and finding out more about the magazine, LAW stands for LIVES AND WORKS. It aims to document Britain with the portrayal of the beautiful that usually doesn't get recognition. Issue 7 was all about the outdoors, and it was quite an interesting issue. One of the articles focuses on the craft thatching, and it is really interesting that thatching is still around and there is still a need. Within the magazine there are also some really strong photographs that appealed to me. LAW isn't necessarily a magazine that I would look at put it was actually wasn't too bad. I particularly liked the layout within the magazine, there was a strong 3 column grid system in place that provided order. This has encouraged me to look at more creative magazines regarding areas of my creative interest.

OUGD402 Looking for Inspiration

Today with Penny Lee we started at looking at points of inspiration.

What can we learn from?
Blogs
Galleries
Books
Magazines
Gigs
Zines
Concerts
The Street
Socials
Performance 
The Past
The Future
Friends
Family

We can learn from everything and all the different areas of design. 'You are what you read' is a really important saying. Being aware of everything around you and being open minded, or my work will be really limited.

Things to check out:
Ted Talks
Do Lectures
The Chicken Shed Chronicles
Instagram
Radio 4
Another
Dazed & Confused
Pinterest
Medium

We got together in groups and came up with a list of things that inspire us:

After listening to other groups and people within my own I now have a wider range of sources I can look into.

1. LFW - HUSSEIN CHALAYAN'S SPRING/SUMMER 2016

Someone mentioned about how they had seen a clip from London Fashion Week where there are dresses that melt away to reveal another dress when water is poured onto them. I started to look into this further and I found that it was designer Hussein Chalayan's for his spring/summer 2016 collection. The presentation of the clothes took place in Salle Melpomène at Paris' Palais des Beaux-Arts on the 2nd of October 2015.

Elle uk's Instagram account using screen catcher.

Photography by Jason Lloyd-Evans found on http://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/02/clothes-disintegrate-on-catwalk-hussein-chalayans-spring-summer-2016-show-paris-fashion-week/ 

Photograph by Dan Lecca found on http://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/02/clothes-disintegrate-on-catwalk-hussein-chalayans-spring-summer-2016-show-paris-fashion-week/

The feature of the shower which dissolved the two water soluble outfits to reveal the delicate dresses underneath really helped to add the wow factor. I think it is really interesting how much the actual performance and presentation plays a role on how we think about something and whether we are going to remember it. I think many people who went and saw this will always remember it, the fact that it has been shared numerous times and now that I have seen it, really shows how much power presenting something in a new and unique way has. 

Watch the video here: Hussein Chalayan's Spring/Summer 2016 Runway Moment

2. THE DIELINE

The Dieline is a catalogue defining and promoting the world's best packaging design and provides a place where the package design community can review, critique and stay informed of the latest trends and projects being created in the field. I personally love packaging design, it is and area of design I am really interested in and it is my go to site when looking for inspiration. I love the way in which something is packaged actually compels the consumer to buy the product. 

3. DESIGN MILK

An online blog/magazine dedicated to modern design, showing you what’s new in art, architecture, interior design, furniture and decor, fashion and technology. I would say its main focus is on architecture/interior design, it usually favours minimalist styles. I mainly follow their Instagram account and use it as visual inspiration to inform any current projects.

4. PINTEREST

A social network that allows people to visually share and discover new interests. I use pinterest for a range of things from fashion to recipes, it is a really useful tool to find attractive images. Whenever I am doing a new project I type in a word that relates to it, and I then have a visual mood board to stimulate ideas.

5. EARTH PICS, INSTAGRAM

Earth pics is an Instagram account that I follow which has stunning pictures of places, people, animals and nature. I really like this account because it reminds me just how beautiful the world is and makes me want to go out, travel and explore.

6. INSPIRATION GRID

Inspiration grid is something I have recently discovered, it is an online magazine celebrating creative talent from around the world. A daily fix of design, art, illustration, typography, photography, architecture, fashion and more. I love the way in which it is set out, the sections are very clear if you wanted to look at examples of specific types of design.

7. TED TALKS

TED talks are short, powerful talks on a range of topics. I find these really inspiring and thought provoking, they are good at giving you a deeper understanding and insight that allows you to come to your own opinions.

8. VICE

VICE is a print magazine and website focused on arts, culture, and news topics. I like looking at their broad range of articles and finding out about new things.

9. FILMS/TV 

I love films and tv series such as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Fight Club, The Prestige, Pulp fiction etc. Immersing yourself in a different world, giving me a break from reality.

10. BOOKS

Although I don't read as often as I used to, this is similar to films and tv I find it a form of escape and relaxation while being personally immersed in another world.

OUGD402 Gentleman of Letters

Yesterday we watched a short video on Dublin sign painters, it showed how although it is not as common it still happens today. I made some quick notes while watching it and found that it is all about being able to communicate a message effectively while also thinking about the aesthetics. Most prefer minimalist - one typeface colour to provide more visual impact. A man named James Early argued that it is an really important craft saying it brings joy because of the human quality it has being hand drawn and not as clinical, people are more drawn to it. It is also more appreciated by people when they have seen it being done and the skill it requires. 

It was also said that it brings heritage to their city, it shows a snapshot in time. But one of the main things that was mentioned is that the first thing you see is a sign. It helps make your decisions, where you go, where you buy etc. I think this is a really important thing, it shows that signs influence people to do things. This is something I will try to remember because I think it is an important point and it could be applied to the current branding task logotype. 

OUGD402 Study Task 01 - Getting to Know People

On Thursday the 8th of October we were given the task within a group to research and do a 3 minute presentation on a given design studio. My group was given Sagmeister & Walsh. 

We had to cover:

• Who they were
• Where they are based
• What do they do 
• How do they do it
• What makes them unique

As a group we decided to split up the questions and I chose to answer how do they do it. 

This is the link to our groups verbal presentation: SAGMEISTER & WALSH

This is the visual presentation that we showed: SAGMEISTER & WALSH PICS

We then went on to watch the rest of the class's presentations, these are some of the things I picked up on:

AHHA STUDIO:

• Founded by Carolina Cantante & Catarina Carreiras
• Personal and tangible
• They work closely with clients
• They use basic shapes and primary colours - makes them unique - abstract
• Broad clientele
• Experiments that become successful
• Very international

HEY STUDIO:

• Small studio
• Founded by Veronica Fuerte
• Based in Spain - Barcelona
• They specialise in brand identity, editorial, typography
• Colour is a huge influence
• Pencil sketches are taken into illustrator to be developed
• They have better client relationships because they're small
• Worked with clients such as apple, vodafone etc.

HEY DAYS:

• Norwegian, based in Oslo
• Focus predominantly on brand identities
• 6 designers 
• Minimalist, Scandinavian style is evident
• Subdued colour palettes

LUST

• Founded 1996
• 16 Designers
• The Hague, in the Netherlands
• They use traditional print work and book design
• They created the LUSTlab which links digital with physical design

STUDIO DUMBAR

• Dutch
• Loads of awards
• Branding online/offline
• One third of there work goes unpaid - majority is for non profit
• Abstract, geometric, complex typography

BUILD

• Originally based in London but moved to Yorkshire
• Internationally recognised
• Branding and identity
• Type orientated 
• Simple
• Limited colour

ELMWOOD

• Founded 1997
• World's most effective
• Created their own design tools
• Have their own tea and beer brand
• Very serious about sustainability
• International design studio
• Bold
• Contemporary

BLEED

• Based in Oslo and Vienna 
• Won ED award
• Identity focused
• They take aspects of architecture and reflect in their work
• Everything from the company is used in a form of creating some sort of design

FACE

• Super-modernist design
• 10 Designers
• Work locally - in Mexico
• Music a very strong influence
• Honest branding

DESSEIN

• Based in Australia 
• Broad range of work
• Clean, fresh and modern
• Illustrative
• Incorporate photography
• Diverse cultural background

WOLFF OLINS

• Making a brand last forever is their focus
• Studios all over in busy capitals
• Positive social impact
• Employ diverse people
• High profile logo

Looking into these design studios was really interesting and I know that I will reflect and take inspiration from when doing certain projects. I will probably also look into more depth individual projects so that I can learn how experienced designers work.

OUGD402 The John Peel Lecture with Brian Eno

Brian Eno's BBC Music John Peel Lecture 2015:

Brian Eno was an art student in the 60's, he become part of the Roxy music group as their keyboard player. He became an iconic electronic performa, playing synth with many famous artists, it was even said that he was Bowies muse as he was so influential. He is an extremely interesting man as he doesn't believe in setting goals, instead he just does things. I myself have never been one for setting goals so this was interesting to see that if you are a proactive person that just does things then there is no need to set goals because you will already be achieving. 

Within his talk he spoke about how art is considered a luxury, and not a STEM subject. He asks the question whether art does more and how can they flourish. Telling us to rethink how we talk about culture as art is interpreted in different ways and how no one knows what we are exactly doing with art. "Art is everything you don't have to do", I found this a really interesting interpretation because it is a very true statement, we don't have to do these things as it goes beyond human need. He backed up his point by saying that we make eating into something more and clothes, past basic need, we stylise and embellish. Even movement has been elaborated through dance. Communication through advertising, poems, and songs, everything has become highly stylised. The reason for this is because we care about style a lot, nobody dresses randomly, and this was all part of Eno's broad definition of art. I also noticed this is very relevant within the are of graphic design, technically we don't need all of these typefaces and fonts, yet we have them anyway to stylise and embellish.

Eno posed the question why is art important, because everyone is doing it. He explained that imagination is very strong in humans, that is what makes us different from other animals. He gave an example about how two ladies could easily talk about something controversial happening in a soap because it is not connected to their real lives.  Art can give us feelings about things that are not dangerous, if we see a shocking painting in a gallery, you can just leave, art stimulates different worlds. I found this a really interesting point and it really helps to show the importance of art, it has allowed us to develop and be more diverse, pushing boundaries. This is something that I hope people being negative who see no reason for the arts understand now the place it has in the world. This lecture has also made me feel a lot more positively to what I am doing because there is a lot of negative stigma art and design is not academic.

OUGD402 Light Night

On Friday the 9th of October I attended Light Night in Leeds city centre. Light night is an annual multi-arts and light festival with light projections, exhibitions, installations, film, dance, music, theatre and street performances.​​​ I only passed through briefly and was disappointed that I didn't actually see that much.

I did however go into Leeds cathedral where I saw 'The Sun at Night' installation which explored our relationship to the sun. Utilising images from NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory, a year in the life of the sun is compressed into a 30 minute projection.

These were my own photos that I took inside the cathedral. I did not quite understand the installation and nothing much happened, I was expecting more. After this we proceeded to the Leeds College of art building on Vernon street where the installation 'Drawing with Light' took place. Artists Rebecca Smith and Peter Barber from Urban Projections, collaborated with the college students to create and innovative piece of live art projection and pre-programmed projections onto the facade of Leeds College of Art that will intricately encase the contours of the building. I watched it for about 5-10 minutes and whether it had not properly started I am unsure but there wasn't very many visuals to see.

These are a few of my photos of it:

 However I think maybe if I had stayed longer we would have been able to see more of the installation, as from seeing a photo it looked really it looked really striking and compelling.

http://www.leeds-art.ac.uk/news-events/news/2015/10/02/leeds-college-of-art-present-%E2%80%98drawing-with-light%E2%80%99-at-light-night-2015/

Overall I do not think I saw the best of Light Night maybe if I had explored round or stayed longer I would have experienced more of the event but in my personal opinion there was not much to see and I was quite disappointed.