Discourse

Eight



I love the invention behind this logo for the company “eight” that has been designed by stylo design. The concept behind the design of the logo is so well thought out and so simple which is what in my opinion makes it work so well.
The logo perfectly communicates to the viewer the name of the company as well as making it stand out and work with the typeface, and using the text to become the image. It’s not until you look twice that you appreciate the clever imaginative way the name has been constructed from the number 8. It is the fact that the 8 has been used for every letter that gives the logo its uniform and purpose. However I can’t really see how the whole typeface would work with other words as the reason the logo works as it does is that it expresses the name and typeface together. I also think it’s quite interesting to see the thinking behind the idea and how the logo has come together. It shows the boundaries that are pushed in the design thinking and how well, a well thought out idea can be executed.

Environment London

I think I am quite lucky to have London as the environment I live in, especially as I am studying graphic design. Besides the obvious advantages of big major galleries and a rich diverse culture throughout London, for me one of the biggest things I find influencing me is it freedom to express throughout the streets of practically everywhere you go. Street art is scrawled across the walls providing a social commentary on current events which feeds my visual library of images, methods and ideas. I also find myself walking around and coming across little exhibitions that seem to have popped up over night, showcasing unsung artists and illustrators. It is this unknown environment that I find myself documenting and fuelling my imagination away from the mass crowds and tourists. But wherever you go London has an atmosphere and a buzz and to just look around the streets there is always to gain inspiration from and admire, from the neon signs that illuminate your journey to the towering architecture that never seems to disappear from your sight. It is all the reasons and more that I think makes London a brilliant environment to be apart of.

Fluxus

Fluxus is an art movement I find quite interesting although is not something that I greatly agree with or like. From what I have found out the fluxus art movement wanted to blur the boundaries between art and life and make art and the artist a relevant and productive member of society. This is all very well but what I don’t agree on is that all art has to have a purpose. George Maciunas one of the founding artists in the fluxus movement came up with a series of boxes that had been complied with his and other artists in the movements work containing various items of use such as playing cards, matches, and a pear. A lot of these works were unsigned and made cheaply with the intention of wider distribution. But with work like this I don’t see them being an artist but someone who has closer ties with a shop keeper that sells on items of need. In my opinion art can have a purpose but what tends to make art what it is, is its aesthetic appeal which makes you want to own that particular item in question.


http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/03.08/16-fluxus.html

Semiotics
Semiotics is the use of signs and signifiers in many different creative fields from visual arts and film to literature and music all these use the device of semiotics to portray something the viewer.
The example shown is for a beer called Carling with the phrase for the campaign “belong” and “knowing who your mates are”. The advert is aimed at young males who go out with there mates that are refused entry from somewhere because of the type of shoes you have on. Most young males can identify with this through the signs and signifiers that are evident in the advert of wearing trainers and a gathering of mates trying to get in somewhere that looks really good. The other signifier as well as the imagery is the phrase “know who your mates are” it represents camaraderie between friends identifying with the three musketeers analogy. The image of them in silhouette at the end is also identifiable with moving on into the distance and standing strong together. Through the use of semiotics in this advert the viewer relates to a familiar scenario and in doing so makes them feel familiar to the drink and the idea of belonging.



Alan Fletcher

Alan Fletcher described by the daily telegraph as "the most highly regarded graphic designer of his generation, and probably one of the most prolific" he was at the for front of postwar graphic design in Britain and from looking at his work it is not hard to see why. Although passing away in 2006 his legacy of design carries on through his company pentagram which are still doing intuitive and original deign with the likes of such organizations as MOMA.
The strength of Fletchers work is still around to see through logo’s such as the V&A, which is a simple yet very effective piece of design that communicates and illustrates the nature of the brand to the viewer.
Something I find interesting about Alan Fletcher is the way he looks at things, and the way he describes seeing as one of the most important sense’s and how people think in images, and how words are the most identifiable symbols. It is through his book the art of looking sideways that plays on the perception of images, i.e. is a zebra a black animal with white stripes, or a white animal with black stripes. He engages the viewer which is why I think his design is so successful.



Alex trochut



Trochut’s work mainly focuses on typography being the main part of his design. A lot of the work he has done revolves around him designing his own typography for the particular client he is working for. His designs are often in black and white, but with the typography used either gives them a bold strong feel or an elegant flowing aesthetic to the design. The strength of his designs is also evident through the company’s he has worked for such as, Nike, Cadbury’s, and the front cover of the rolling stones album. His design in typography becomes the image which I think is one of the main reasons why work is is so strong, his work is visually dynamic and engages his audience. His work also has a balance to it. There is no one over powering part of his designs just everything working together as one.




Takashi Murakami


Murakami is one of the leading artists coming out of Japan whose work sells for a fortune. He has looked at anima and manga for inspiration and turned this theme into works of art, he dubs this style super flat referring to way his work flattens tradition and brings everything together. What makes Murakami so successful is turning his own art into consumer products, the opposite of warhole who took consumer products and turned them into art. It is this that makes him so successful, as everyone can own a piece of Murakami’s work through the toys that have come out of his paintings. It is the forward thinking into the mainstream that has seen him working with designers such as Louis Vuitton. His design for a Louis Vuitton bag is world renown and is immediately identifiable.
However from looking at his work I am not a great fan and find his work a bit too busy for my liking the colors are very brash and in your face and quite gimmicky. However I think this is a reflection of the consumer world we live in, and the corporate side that is now in art.


Secret Wars


Secret wars is an underground art battle where 2 artists go up against each other on 2 white blank walls with only back markers as a way of expressing themselves the battle lasts 90 minutes and is a combination of illustration and graffiti styles. Since starting with the first series in 2006, secret wars is coming ever closer of coming out of the underground in out in the world, with battles being organized in such city’s as London, New York, Malmo and Copenhagen with more city’s being added each year. What makes this concept so interesting is seeing the art unfold in front of you, without the aid of a sketch or a pencil to mark out the piece on the wall all the work is done freestyle and in front of an audience. From following secret wars since it has started it is something I have gained influence from and put me in the direction of other artists. It shows what can be achieved in 90 minutes on such a large area and how the execution of a good idea is key.

Eine


Eine is a street artist who paints large scale letters and phrases throughout London. I went to his private view over in Shackwell street where he had an exhibition of his full color shutter fronts that he had screen printed consisting of 77 colors. All these letters are around the east end on various shop fronts that he has put up over the past few years. It wasn’t till I got there that I realized the exhibition was part of a record breaking attempt where each piece of work took up to 6 weeks to complete, and throughout the 150 prints resulting in the printer being pulled a massive 12,000. Apart from the work which I am a big fan of, especially when walking round the east end and being confronted by a huge colorful “J” on a shop front, was where the exhibition took place. A garage had been transformed into a temporary exhibition space with work being hung from wall to ceiling in sets of three going down. There were pot paints and tools stacked in corners and the smell of solvents still lingering in the air which I found adding to the atmosphere of the event.

Post modernism

Post modernist architecture is something that I find interesting because it is something that more or less impacts me on a daily basis. Weather I’m on my way to university or heading down to the pub I am bound to see a bit of post modernist architecture jetting up into the sky line. Such buildings as the gurken are visually striking and represent a modern way of thinking reflecting the postmodern culture we live in today. Postmodern buildings through out London are often recognized straight away just from there shape alone. I think this liking to post modern buildings also has influences through the work I like to produce with clean cut lines and a fresh polished finish. Buildings done away with the modernist idea of everything being designed around function and have moved more towards the idea of an ornament and something that is a lot more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. An interesting comparison is the national theatre which is modernist compared to with the sage music centre in Gateshead being post modernist both of them couldn’t be further removed from each other in the way they look.




Ralph Steadman

Ralph Steadman is an illustrator that I have been fond of from an early age growing up with various books by him in my house. I think his style is very unique and is full of energy his black ink splatters being his trade mark add a unique element to his style often exploding from the page. His scratchy style map out figures and there gestures with a strange abstract feel that add to the confusion in some of his illustrations. His work often reflects social issues and plays on the political stories that are present at the time they were made, his drawings also depict an ugly side to things with bulbous heads and big eyes. There is often a degree of violence in his work or a sense that something violent is about to happen, which I feel adds to the sense of atmosphere in his work. As well as his unique illustrations I also like a set of work he done with polaroid’s that feature in his book paranoids. In this set of work he used polaroid’s of famous people and heated them up and dragged the image to distort the images often creating warped and surreal images.


Light Writing


Light writing is something that I have looked into in parts of my work this year and is something that I enjoy. Light writing has only really developed over the past few years with digital cameras being more available to the masses as well as an inexpensive way of practicing without doing long exposures on a standard slr camera and using lots of film. With the use of such websites as flick r and you tube light drawing is readily available for the world to see and is an up coming form of urban art where no vandalism takes place. Light drawing is a wonderful use of light and technology coming together and is only ever stored through the medium it has been recorded on and can never been seen in its entirety where the drawing has taken place. Through the use of light drawing animations can take place, writing can be scrawled across walls and all in a second with evidence that it ever happened. Through these pictures and films the darkest streets turn into neon signs and images and torches and led lights are flashed through the air.