Anti-Urbansism

As part of this project we have to think about our potential specialism for next year. In my portfolio review I decided to continue with straight graphic design as I feel it is too early to focus on one particular area.

Graphic Design is not just about selling a product or making it look aesthetically pleasing but can also be used to express an opinion or evoke certain emotions. I've decided to focus on the topical subject of pollution - which is increased by continued urbanisation.

While researching Peter Saville for my 'Visual Career Case Study' I found a public awareness ad he created with M&C Saatchi. The TV commercial used Optical Illusions to warn the viewer about the importance of road safety.

On the Creative Review site there is an interview with Saville where he discusses the thought process behind the ad.

I thought this could be an interesting concept for the urban motion piece. I could create a public awareness ad on the harms of urbanisation and pollution.

Urban Proposal

As the task is more self-directed we've been told to come up with a proposal, a plan for the project. I got my idea approved on Monday, I'm basically going to look into the negative effects of Urbanism.

The title I've gone for is 'Anti-Urbanism'. I thought the title had a specific theme but was still broad enough to experiment.

I also stated that I was going to try and create a 'short motion piece'. Its an area we haven't really covered so far on the course but one that interests me and would be interesting to work on.

A few times when I've been looking at motion graphics on YouTube the creator has often used Adobe After Effects, as piece of software in the Adobe creative suite.  We're not really going to look After Effects until 2nd Year but I thought this would be a good chance to get a head start and have a play around.

After Effects' main purpose is for film and video post-production; combining multiple video sources in various ways (compositing), correcting brightness and colour, removing unwanted camera motion and adding visual effects.

Urban...?

Haven't posted in a while, had a very busy week with my new project "Urban...?". We've been given the topic and have to come up with our own title and proposal. Its a self initiated research task in response to the theme urban.

Urban ajd. of living in, or situated in a town or city.

In response to the research we must produce one of the following;

• A short experimental motion piece (no longer than 2 minutes)
• 4 experimental images
• 4 experimental typographic pieces
• 4 experiments type/image pieces

London Fashion Week

So its London Fashion Week and I decided to see what roles graphic designers have in the show and in fashion itself.

The trade show has a strong simple brand which hasn't really changed since it started. I think the main focus is obviously on the clothes and the designers but the brand can be seen throughout the capital in the run up to the event.

I also looked into poster designs and how they are used to advertise the show. Below is a poster created by Paul Smith, which uses its iconic coloured branding to create an image that resembles a tangled, coat-hanger underground map.

The Paul Smith brand is covered in the book 'Graphic Design for Fashion', which can be seen here on the on the Creative Review site.

Frankenstein

Last night I fell asleep watching 'The Review Show' on BBC Two. The panel were reviewing Danny Boyle's Frankenstein theatre production.

Danny Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours and Trainspotting. They were saying how the opening 5 minutes contains no dialog and has a cinematic feel to it. The host said that this was a clear 'design' decision made by Boyle.

It got me thinking about design and how it is in every aspect of our lives, what we eat, what we wear and what we watch. Growing up I always wanted to make movies and last night I wondered if there were any Graphic Designers who have ventured into the realms of film production.

Another design decision made by Boyle, that I thought was really interesting, was to have the two central characters alternate roles. It was a different take on the traditional Frankenstein tale. It seems interesting, the idea that Frankenstein and his monster are alter-egos .

The production has sold out but apparently a filming of the show is going to be released as a special screening in selected cinemas.