Inspirational work from the Ikon and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

The beautiful canvas above was created by Fiona Rae named 'Dark Star'. This painting was very effective and was created using materials such as acrylics, oil pastels and glitter. I was instantly drawn to this painting as it was very eye-catching. I could also see some aspects of Chinese elements in this painting, such as a varied range of brush strokes and the way she has written across with symbols it also reminds me of Chinese clothing. This may be shown in this painting due to the influence of the artists background; as she is originally from Hong Kong. I think that Rae has implied all of her environmental factors into this painting; making it more personal and meaningful to herself. You can clearly see her inspiration from comics, sci-fi, cinema, films, adverts and her location in which she grew up in. I personally think that this is an very inspirational painting, as Rae has experimented well, with a wide range of different materials. I also think that the interpretation of her own life within the painting highly intriguing; as it makes me want to find out more about herself and her work. I adore the colours which have been used in this canvas and the way she has used glitter to some parts of her painting so that they will create more emphasis to those certain areas. I feel as though this work is very fresh and relaxing as it gives me a calm feeling when I look deeply into it. Another aspect which I loved about the painting was that Rae has used a dark coloured background, so that all the other patterns on top will stand out; as she has chose brighter colours. This makes the painting stand out instantly to the public.

This was another painting which I was inspired by in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It reminded me of conflict and contrast, the images also had a bit of evil concept behind them, as I felt they were not very friendly looking. However I was really drawn to it, as it looked unique on the walls and stood out from the rest of the paintings. This may be due to the fact of the colours which have been used; as they obviously are eye-catching. The painting itself inspires me as its so detailed and the way it has been done is very effective, as you can see all the brush strokes if you look very closely. I also adore how in each painting you can somewhat see a human figure but as it is not so clear, this personally intrigued me to find out more about what the painting may be about. I thought it also had a mysterious concept behind it and as I like mysterious things I captured this image to show you guys!

Below you will find a range of different designs which have been created by Timur Novikov. I found his work to be incredibly influential and inspiring. Novikov was mainly famous for using fabric in his work rather than canvases or paper. This made me love his work even more as it was out of the norm and gave texture to his work; making it interesting to look at. In Timur's work below you can see similar characteristics, instantly making him notifiable. I really liked the consistency he kept going all throughout his work. The work he has done below are all very simple fabric pieces with other fabrics attached on top to create a visual message which will successfully communicate and portray a message to its audience. I was greatly fascinated by how simple his work was yet so effective and powerful at creating emotion and interacting with the audience. This was one of the main reasons I liked his work, as I found it very inspirational. Overall I adore the simplicity of his work and this will visually influence me in the future on how to communicate with my audience in a more subtle, simplified manner. 

Design Hero's by Jane

In this lecture we were introduced to Stefan Sagmeister. This was a practitioner who I have not come across before, therefore I was more intrigued to find out more about him and his work. Sagmeister is a New-York based Graphic Designer and typographer who is well known for his own design firm. Through this lecture I gained an insight on how much of an experimental practitioner he is. The work he done in a scrapbook which showed elements of his life inspired me the most. The book was on things that inspired Stefan the most which included a variety of different things. The environment seemed to influence his work a lot aswell; as this was clearly shown all throughout his personal typographic work.

Most of Sagmeister's work portrays clean messages which most of the audience will be able to clearly relate to. This makes the audience more comfortable and engage in more deeply into his work; as they will have experienced the same situations before themselves. I love the way Sagmeister uses random quotes with different settings, they relate so well and evoke the audience to just stare and find out more about his work. I find it so calming and inspiring. I also think it's very different to what other practitioners do and makes his work stand out from the crowd. Each quote intrigues you, making you think deeply about what Sagmeister is trying to say, this automatically drags all of your audiences attention.

Across all of Sagmeister's designs you can see his consistent working style; which instantly tells you that it is his work. I really admire Sagmeister's unique way of portraying messages across in such different ways.  

After being to the lecture I was hugely inspired by such detail in Sagmeister's work that I started researching more about him and other similar practitioners who worked within a similar style. I came across a Canadian designer who goes by the name of Marian Bantjes, who is an illustrator, artist, designer and writer. I found that Sagmeister's work related well to her style of work as they both show similar characteristics. I can see from both of their work that they both express similar thoughts throughout their work, in similar ways. Below are some of Marian's work which I found relates well and shows great comparison to Sagmeister's work. 

Above you can see some of Marian's work. The way she has cut out such detailed shapes into quotations reminds me of Sagmeister's work. I adore the colours she uses within her work and how you can instantly tell it is her work, just like you can with Sagmeister's. I believe that you can see great emotion behind her work and this will engage the audience to find out more about her as a person, if not just her work. You can also see that most of her work has been consistent; as she uses the same kind of font, colour and images to make it recognizable. Another thing I love about her work is how she portrays a message through something so detailed, yet makes it so understandable and creates such emotion. By arousing emotion in her audience she instantly makes her work memorable in their eyes; as they have felt something in a certain way through her own personal work.  

Mark Murphy- Design Hero's

In this lecture Mark Murphy shared with us, his design hero’s. He showed us work of people he was highly inspired by. One of the designers was Saul Bass who is an American Graphic Designer, by looking at his visuals I gained an insight to what his work would be like. His work was very unique and stood out from the crowd, as he used a very bold colour palette. I gained knowledge on how Saul Bass tackles very detailed briefs to create such simple, yet effective outcomes. The designer was best known for his branding work and creating posters for various different films.

Above are various poster designs by Saul Bass^

All the film posters above have been well composed by experimenting with the use of white space. This has been done especially so that the initial message will stand out and viewers will then want to find out more about the underlying message. The use of bright colours helps to enhance the features of the simplified shapes to make one aspect of the image look more creative and eye-catching. It fascinates me how Bass uses the simplest of shapes and primary colours to create such successful visual messages.
 Another thing which interests me the most about his work, was how his creative visuals are cut in such a neat and tidy way, however are still able to portray the appropriate message through illustrations and colour. 
One of the main aspects of this lecture which inspired me the most were how Saul Bass uses such complicated notions in a much more simplified way, so that his audiences are able to understand the underlying message in a successful way. I will take this skill on board as a Graphic Designer and be able to encode messages in simpler shapes and form, so that my audience can easily digest the meaning. 

I also found another designer who's work shows alot of similarity to Saul Bass's work. This designer goes by the name of Tiago Campea. In the same way as Bass, Tiago also uses simplified shapes to show neatness and in order to deliver the message successfully his work is kept very consistent and strong. Scrolling through his work I instantly saw a comparison between Saul's work and his. I think they both work within the same style and also stick to the range of similar colour palettes.

Below is some of Tiago's work which inspired me the most.

After looking at these practitioners work thoroughly, I gained an insight on how to make use of simple shapes look effective. I also think that it's important to use symbols in a way in which the audience will understand what your company is about; as this will intrigue them to find out more. Overall from this lecture I will take into consideration how a strong message is needed to portray any brand or company, whether that be a television ad or film poster.  No matter how simple the design, it still has to be effective or else it will not sell your company you are advertising/branding for. These were the main aims I took on board from this lecture and I will now use these key skills, and imply them to my own personal work in the future. 

Mark Murphy also shared with us another one of his design hero's; which funnily enough was one of my all time favorites. David Carson is a very well know American Graphic Designer, he is best known for his innovation magazine design and use of experimental typography. Carson is said to be the most influential graphic designer of the 90's and is known to do things out of the ordinary, this explains why his work always goes 'BAM' in your face and is something other than what you would normally expect. David's work is not always legible and can be hard to read or understand by some of the viewers; however he believes that such in depth visuals, are the key to engaging viewers and setting them a challenge to decode the hidden message. I personally think that he is right, as if I was given one of David's pieces of work to look at, I would find it challenging however I would still want to find out more about the hidden message behind the work. Perhaps this is because I like a challenge. 

Carson always likes to push the boundaries that other designers have not dared to do before. This makes his work stand out from competing designers in the industry and makes it much more unique. I have always thought of Carson's work as puzzles; as they are not always straight forward to understand. Although this can be frustrating and hard for some audiences, I always had the urge to find out more. The use of layers, space, colour and typography are all of the key elements which play a role in the puzzle, which we must aim to solve. David Carson's work always has some sort of influential factor from his own personal life, such as surfing. You will always see some surfing elements implied into his work, this may be due to the passion he has for surfing. He always layers his work with type, images, colour, backgrounds and much more making it look effective rather than plain, simple and boring. 

Overall I was inspired by the way Carson distorts his materials, and layers them upon each other to create something out of the ordinary, I love the use of colours and how you can instantly recognize his work if it was shown to you without his name. I was also greatly impressed by the way he makes it so challenging, for his audience to decode the messages behind his work, not only does this make it fun, but it also engages the audience so much that they will be drawn straight into the objective and find his work hard to forget. Another aspect of his work which inspires me is the fact that his work is not simple and easy to understand; this makes me relate his work to a mysterious adventure which I have to find my way through. 

Design Hero's: David Osbaldestin W.T.F

This lecture by David Osbaldestin was on w.t.f. –What the Font. Through this lecture I gained knowledge on a variety of different things, which successful graphic communicators must ensure they know in order to deliver accurate information to its audience. This lecture gave me an overview of the disciplines used in order to visually communicate via advertising and how to effectively promote products. It also gave me a deeper insight to all the areas which graphic designers have to look at to ensure they are meeting their targets such as; engaging with the audience, delivering the correct type of information, using the right type of context and language, how to excite your audience and invite them into your world.

I was also greatly fascinated by the way it was all advertised, as this was different to the norm and stood out to me. I thought the brand communication was very strong and effective at promoting the product of McCain chips. Another vital thing I learnt through this lecture was that the notions must be innovative and creative and differ from other competitors out there so that the design/product will stand out. I believe that good design sells, and this is why communicators go through all these strategies in order to ensure that the problem has been successfully resolved and the visual idea is connecting with its targeted audience in a positive way- thus getting good response from the audience, this also means there are greater chances of the product being sold.

Another important factor I learnt from this lecture was that in advertising a message will be portrayed which will arouse emotion in their targeted audience to feel something. This message will inform, engage, invite or express further knowledge about the products being advertised. In this lecture we looked at David Osbaldestin’s advertising campaign for McCain Chips, which was a very engaging. The idea behind this advert was to get people thinking differently about chips, so David purposely changed the perspective in order to change people’ the product itself.  The advert also shows the process of how the chips are made which makes the audience see clearly what they will be eating and what kind of journey they have been on. 

This enables the audience to gain trust in the product, and gives them a positive insight on how they are made from ‘fresh’ potatoes; giving potential buyers confidence in consuming the product. Basically half of the population out there have a negative thought on eating fast food’s and chips. This advert has been created to change those negative thoughts into positive thoughts and attract more customers through the positive outlook on McCain Chips. Although many moms and dads will believe chips to be an unhealthy option, this advert uses quotes like ‘eat your greens,’ which sounds more healthier and will entice moms on buying these chips for their families. 

David Osbaldestin also showed us the TV commercial that was used to link in with the posters. He did this to keep things consistent and throughout the commercial he portray the ‘goodness’ of the potatoes and the finished product at the end, this ensures the audience are kept interested and are willing to sit through the advertisement to follow the journey of how the chips have been made.

 Below you will find the TV commercial:

In comparison to the McCains advert I came across the new Diet Coke advert, which again has the same concept behind the advert. It uses the technique of storytelling and gradually builds up emotion whilst creating suspense; enticing the viewer to find out the underlying message about the advert.  

                                      

The aim of this advert was to promote the diet coke and it was done in a very clever way. The message is portrayed through a group of girls in a park who roll the can of coke towards the 'hunk', who is the lawn mower in this case, he then strips off and drinks the coke, this is shocking to them and delivers a message that if a handsome man who looks after his body can drink it so can they; as it will not be causing any harm to their bodies.  I personally believe that the whole concept of the story line is very modern and thrilling which automatically drags the viewers attention, mainly those of the younger age. Throughout my analysis of TV adverts, I have come to realise how they work and the concept behind them. I have also learnt that creative ideas are the best way of thinking and that it is very important to think outside the box to stand out; as by doing this you will attract many more viewers and this will lead to gaining many more customers. 

Design Hero 3- Kyle Poff

I came across Kyle whilst studying A level art, as one of the modules were about graphic communication and research design. I instantly fell in love with his work as it was so unique and quirky in its own way. I like the way he uses type and colour together and how he keeps everything minimal. Most of Kyle's work includes pastel like colours which; are amongst some of my favorite colours in this spring/summery season- this may  indicate why I like his work even more.
Recently I was hugely inspired by the vibrant packaging he did for Compartes Chocolatiers which is a local Los Angeles brand. What I loved about Kyle’s work with Compartes was that he was brave enough to take a branding idea that the mast brothers have perfected and turn it around in his own unique way. Instead of created boring old patters Kyle has worked hard to create a series of bright, crazy patterns which instantly grab your attention and make your eyes go wonky! I still think the designs are beautiful and I personally think it's more appealing to the audience now than before. 

Here are some of the chocolate packagings which he designed..   
I adore the different patterns and colours which he has used. The design also looks extreamly detailed, bright and out there which is another thing which I love about his designs. The bold packaging is bound to grab the consumers attention and therefore it will sell and this is why I believe it is a good design in itself. 

Design Hero 2- Neville Brody

Neville Brody is an internationally renowned designer, typographer, art director and brand strategist.  He is very well known for his work on The Face Magazine and has created the company Research Studios in 1994 of whom he is a founder of. Currently he is the new head of the Communications department of the Royal College of Art. Neville has been one of my all time favorites  as something about his work is so different it’s beautiful. I personally think his work stands out from the rest and you can always tell instantly, when it is his piece of work. All of his work is very bold and ‘out there’ which is what I love about it. Not only does it want you to know more about it, it also catches your attention and you will be able to tell what the message behind the image/product is. 

Some of Brody's work..

eye catching..

Different..

Typography..

I find that sometimes it can be hard to get the message behind every image of Neville’s work; however it’s still so different, I love it! I like the way he uses text and image in a very clever way to suit the main theme, I am also greatly inspired by his FF font designs. I personally think they are really good and each one is different and quirky in their own different ways. 

Design Hero 1- Paul Currah

A bit about Paul..

Paul Currah is an award-winning multi-disciplinary graphic designer, delivering creative, innovative and engaging solutions to communication problems across brand identity, print, packaging, environmental and digital.After graduating in 2005, he went on to work at leading design agencies in London. In 2008, whilst at top design agency The Partners, Paul Currah became the youngest winner of a prestigious D&AD Black Pencil for his role as designer on The National Gallery’s Grand Tour campaign. Previous Black Pencil winners have included the designers of The Guardian newspaper, The London Eye and the Apple iPhone. The National Gallery Grand Tour campaign went on to feature in the prolific Brit Insurance Designs of the Year exhibition at the Design Museum in London.

Paul does alot of everything including branding, print, environmental, digital and much more. The reason why I am inspired by his work is because it's exactly what I like and even the way his work is set out or done grabs your attention; as it is unique and different from the norm. I love the simplicity of his designs and how they can still be so effective at delivering the message across to the targeted audience. Below are some of my favorite pieces of work by Paul Currah.  

H A R R Y   T E D   P R O J E C T   B R I E F 

In this project the client was Harry Ted, the brief was to create a brand identity for Harry Ted, suppliers of 100% Mongolian Cashmere accessories. It was a must for the identity to feel luxurious and be targeted to the trendy 'yummy-mummy' crowd. The brand also had to be different from all the other cashmere retailers out there.
<-- In this image you can see what the labels look like on the cashmere clothing.

I adore the simplicity of the design Paul came out with and I think it ticks all the boxes of the brief. I like the neatness of the design and how the colours black, white and pink complement one another. I also think the colour pink on black- stands out and makes the design more eye-catching. I love the way the these tags are designed, keeping the whole brand so consistent and this has also been implied into the design of the animal and the thread following on as a string attached to the cards.

Here is an image of the wrapping papers which Paul designed, I think the colour pink on white work well together and also target the 'yummy-mummy' audience. I think his designs are fairly posh, as he is branding for a luxurious cashmere retailer meaning that these products will be aimed at the slightly higher class of people- and his designs certainly show that they would be suitable.

As the material of the products have a very special element to them, a visual language was created that weaves through all applications of the brand- a magical thread of Mongolian Cashmere that twists and turns to create images associated with it's motherland. I absolutely love the idea!

The same design for packaging, a black celotape with the design running all the way along the middle.

I D E N T I T Y    A N D   W E B S I T E    B R I E F

Client: www.privatearttuition.com
In this project Paul's brief was to create a distinctive and contemporary website for a tutor who specializes in teaching art to young people at home.

Here you can see the logo he designed using everyday daily household goods, arranged into shapes. This is a face and below you can see the same style changed to the £ sign. This is done on every tab according to its information.

I was drawn into this work as he used typography like skills to create the website and I love typography and anything which links to it. I also like the colours he used and how they are consistent all the way through out his website design.

Other inspiring work by Paul Currah

M R   S I N G H' S   B A N G R A S   B R A N D   I D E N T I T Y  

In the images above I like how Paul has used traditional Indian henna patterns on the skins of the sausages to give it that Indian element.  I also like the packaging design as it is simple, posh and delivers the right message across to its audience. I think the brand identity and packaging design stand out alot from all the rest of the gourmet sausages on the market; as its very bold and instantly would grab your attention if it was on a shelf in a supermarket.