Liverpool Biennial 2010

This is becoming a little ridiculous now, I am all over the place with my posts! Back in October (!) we took a trip across to Liverpool, to see their annual Biennial - one of the largest contemporary art events in the UK. "The sixth edition of Liverpool Biennial’s International Exhibition was Touched - Consisting of around 40 new projects by leading and emerging international artists. Principally new commissions as well as several key works previously unseen in the UK, Touched was presented across multiple venues: Tate Liverpool, the Bluecoat, FACT (Foundation for Art & Creative Technology), A Foundation and Open Eye Gallery, with half the exhibition sited in public spaces across the city."

Although there were numerous events and varying locations across the city, I unfortunately was only able to see the exhibition "The Cooperative" at the Old Paint Shop. I really didn't know what to expect when walking up to the exhibition space, but when I was confronted with a woman sat in one of the windows in nothing but her underwear and with the slogan "Make Belive" painted across her stomach (I am not entirely sure whether this was a deliberate spelling mistake or not) it was clear this wasn't going to be your run-of-the-mill art exhibitions.

The event has been promoted as one of the most exciting exhbitions in the UK, yet I really didn't feel that it was as good as it was being promoted to be. The work on display was supposed to "touch" you; in various different ways. However, a lot of it was extremely distasteful and definitely not for young eyes. I agree that it affected us as viewers by shocking and making us feel uncomfortable, but I struggled to define whether this was successful in a good way or not. It didn't leave me feeling very inspired and I feel this may be the reason it has taken me so long to write this visit up.

Some of the pieces were quite interactive - which did add to the experience - albeit not greatly. For instance I enjoyed the Rosa Barba display, titled Free Post Mersey Tunnels because as you walked through it sounds of the Liverpool underground were heard through a labyrinth of intricate pipes, giving a really atmospheric effect. It was quite visually beautiful too; stark and industrial but very intriguing. I also quite liked NS Harsha's installation; a room with a mirrored ceiling that reflected a sea of faces staring back at you from the floor - which created a very strange sensation of being watched.

Though it may be missing the point of the visit slightly, I was far more taken in by the old signage that was still existing in and around the building that hosted the works. They gave glimpses of what the location used to be, I am really sad I only got one photo. It doesn't show the extent of some of the lovely old typography that was printed on walls and signs. There was also some beautiful wallpaper remnants that had been left on odd walls here and there. It was a really lovely location, it is such a shame that this was all I could really comment positively on!

Trevor Johnson, Creative Lynx

Back on December 12th (seriously behind here, forgive me!) Trevor Johnson, of Creative Lynx - one of the UK's leading design agencies - came to speak to us. Their client list is incredibly impressive and long; they have worked with the likes of the British Council, Colgate, London 2012 and on numerous county Police schemes. Not only this, but Johnson himself has had an extremely dynamic career, starting in the industry as a commercial illustrator before moving onto freelance graphic design. His most acknowledged for the work he produced for Factory Records and the Haçienda nightclub (alongside Peter Saville and Malcom Garrett, another 2 notable Manchester-based designers). Because both he and Creative Lynx are based in Manchester, this was a really valuable lecture as we were able to discover more about Manchester's creative industry, which is right on our doorstep.


Trevor talked us through some of his earlier works, and how he has developed since working as an illustrator.  He has been a consistently notable contributor to the urban renaissance of the city through his work for many of Manchester's most prestigious brands and organisations. Trevor has most definitely played a massive role in establishing Manchester as an international city of creative excellence. He has produced many record sleeves, for bands such as New Order, and was influenced by Constructivism. This movement is also one of my biggest influences, so to see his work and how it referenced similar aesthetics was really interesting. I found it to be really beautiful; sometimes I find it difficult to find commercial art or design that I really enjoy so it made a pleasant change to see something that really reflected what I am interested in. 

Above: FACT 137: Shorts. Various Artists. (video promotion)

Above: A Certain Ratio, Wild Party.

Trevor was really good at advising us about how to approach our work and the graphic design industry. He encouraged us to make mistakes: as this will only help you to improve, but also to know when to stop. Johnson described how we shouldn't be overcome by "Optophobia" - or the fear of opening one's eyes. He explained that his best work has been influenced by the world around him, and we should be influenced in the same way too. This was a really valuable piece of advice; as I often find myself falling at hurdles when I make mistakes in my work. I can give up far too easily.

Trevor was a keen promoter of hand-rendered design; although Creative Lynx works with a lot of Digital media, Trevor finds it hard to embrace (as he explained, it is mostly a generational thing, as he has been in the industry for so long). Most of his work is hand crafted, and this was really refreshing to see as so much of our commercial art today is digitally created, it loses a lot of the individuality that more hand-made pieces can hold. I found this encouraging; I love being able to move away from the computer when creating my own work (although it doesn't happen as often as I would like it to) so I will make the conscious effort to try and bring more hand rendered elements into my work again. A very inspiring lecture!

Joana Niemeyer

Back in November last year (apologies this is so late, I've been very slack it seems), Joana Niemeyer from studio April, came to talk to us about their work and her views on how to approach the graphic design industry. 

The design group have produced many print, identity and signage works - which can be seen here. 

I have to admit, I wasn't overtly excited about some of the work she showed us, but one project that really caught my eye was the self-initiated book titled "Graphic Europe" they had produced. Essentially a guidebook, it documents 31 cities across 31 countries Europe and each one illustrated by a designer from that particular country. It was really dynamic and beautiful. The varying styles of each designer changed the pace of the book and made a really exciting aesthetic.

Joana was really supportive and encouraging. As well as speaking about her own work, she gave us more of an insight into what to expect when we leave university.  She told us about what to expect to charge when we undertake  work, dependent on our level of experience. Although these were just rough estimates, it definitely put it into perspective for us, and emphasised just how valuable experience is. Placements, Niemeyer explained, are invaluable. They are a way of learning about the business without actually needing to worry about the business; that is the revenue, costs, background etc. This was really helpful, as I need to definitely be more pro-active when it comes to gaining more experience if I want to succeed when leaving university. Her talk was really insightful, and certainly explored areas that we are often quite sheltered from when studying. It is easy for speakers to talk about the "glossiness" of the design industry - and although we are often told about how competitive it all is, we aren't often told about the more...gritty side to it all.  

Hello Again...

It's been a while since my last post, I am afraid I have been a bit lazy with my blog lately. It's been a very busy last month or so, with my mid-term hand in, dissertation hand in and various new projects underway, but from this point on wards I promise I will try and keep up to date with everything that goes on!

So, yes, to fill you in, last month was a stressful one. All of the projects I have completed since September (Summer project, Static, Fleurons, M&S brief, Johnny Hardstaff workshop) had to be handed in for my interim assessment. It was a horrible time finishing everything over Christmas - I encountered too many problems along the way - but it seems that it was worth it as I am really pleased to say I managed to gain a decent first class grade for my work. This has definitely made me realise that I perhaps need to believe a bit more in myself! Let's hope I continue to do well for my final term... scary.

I also managed to complete my dissertation, called "To Have and To Hold: What is the Future of Print in a Digital World?" I really enjoyed exploring this topic, and discovered so much from it which has definitely renewed my love and passion for printed matter. I want to also say thank you to those of you who participated in the study I set up to help me research the topic - 90 people took part and everyone's responses were brilliant and helped me massively! So thank you again!

I'm just cracking into a new brief, which I have set myself. It's a little hazy at the minute if I am completely honest, and I am struggling a little to get into it but fingers crossed once I pick up the pace a bit it will be an interesting one. I want to explore Avant Garde page design, or design in general. A lot of my inspirations come from the early 20th century European Avant Gard designers, for instance El Lissitzky, Kurt Schwitters, A M Cassandre etc. and I often try to incorporate elements of their aesthetic into my own work. But the whole purpose behind what they stood for was to produce work that was different; pushing the boundaries against the norms of society. There are many artists today who try to achieve the same thing, which I don't deny can often be shocking and controversial, but when this philosophy was first explored it was completely radical and new. Can the same thing be achieved in our modern society, or is it less relevant today? It is a mammoth idea to explore, and I am not sure if I will actually achieve the answer or not! More on this later I think.

Edit.

A little zine I have produced to display some of the work that myself and Nina McNamara created during our  placement at Flux last year.

I HAVE [A] PLAN

Over Christmas, I worked on a live brief set by YCN. The brief was for Marks and Spencer, in which I had to "create a visual identity for our Plan A campaign and develop campaign elements to bring your identity to life." This was a bit of a change for me; I don't often pick 'campaign' or 'branding' project briefs, as it is an area I am not so comfortable with, but I wanted to try something different as a challenge and to add more variation to my overall portfolio.

M&S's 'launched Plan A in January 2007 – ‘committing to change 100 things over 5 years, because we’ve only got one world and time is running out.’ Three years on, we have made good progress against our five Plan A pillars: Climate Change, Waste, Natural resources, Fair partner and Health and Wellbeing – achieving 62 of the original 100 Plan A commitments. So, in March 2010, we unveiled and expanded a more demanding Plan A, setting out 80 new commitments for the next five years and our ambition to become the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015.'

I really struggled with the brief. I found it difficult to get the ball rolling, and I feel that I spent far too long worrying about branding "Plan A" than I did actually promoting it. Because of this, I was really pushed for time when it came developing my format. I chose to create an identity for the plan, as the existing logo didn't seem to stand out from the rest of M&S's branding, and I felt it wasn't memorable enough. Working with the idea of the plan having "5 pillars of change" I created a design that incorporated 5 triangles and reflected the shape of a letter A. I then used the tagline "I have [A] Plan" in order to draw the customers in. 

I chose to create a concertina book, featuring postcards that can be placed around the home as a reminder of what the plan is about. The booklet explained 5 ways for each of the 5 pillars of improving the way we live and becoming involved with M&S's campaign. I was quite pleased with the aesthetic of the piece, and even created a magnetic backing so that it could be placed in the home on fridges, for instance. I also created a set of stickers to work alongside the booklet, which can be placed around the home or in the car, to act as a reminder of the plan to the customer. 

However, during my review, John (my tutor) and I both agreed that it seemed a little clumsy; the booklet opened awkwardly and I am aware that it is not my best piece of design. With this considered though, John felt that it was a really nice attempt and that in the future I should perhaps stick to briefs that are more suitable to my style and interests - which couldn't have been a more welcomed piece of advice if I tried! I am relieved to have finished this brief, it's a shame I didn't get into it more.

DEADLINE TIME.

arggghh.

(I am nowhere near finished).

"I have so much to do that I am going to bed"

I discovered this piece by typographer, illustrator and graphic designer Sebastian Lester by mistake, yet I feel it couldn't portray how I feel about my current work status better. I have so much to do this Christmas that I can't even classify it as a holiday by any means.

I was drawn to his website - www.seblester.co.uk - and was really impressed with his body of typographic work. He has worked in collaboration with many big name brands, including Apple, The Daily Telegraph and Penguin books, and his work is really inspiring. I love type and Lester is clearly passionate about letterforms which is refreshing to see. Here is a selection of his work:

****Update**** 

Discovered that Seb will be coming to my uni to give a lecture at some point later this year. Excited!

New

Some images of a mock-up of a booklet I have designed for my latest project. Entitled 'Patterns' it explores the importance of mathematics - most significantly the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio - in nature. The final piece will be properly bound  (so no tape will be visible) and printed on translucent stock so that the pages form layers of type, shapes  and patterns. I intend to produce a cover with letterpressed type. Really pleased with the results so far; lets just hope the final outcome actually prints successfully!

'Mr Toshiba dies in an freak yachting accident', and other events.

This week I was fortunate enough to participate in a workshop with designer and director Johnny Hardstaff. He has created many innovative moving image works, and has represented many leading brands including Toshiba, Sony and Orange.

Our brief was to develop a new identity for the brand Toshiba. We had 24 hours to develop our strongest idea, with the focus not on a final, crafted piece, but the generation of our concept. As Johnny explained "original ideas are the only valuable currency now. Great ideas are everything".

It was an intense couple of days: with frantic brainstorming, energetic group crits with Johnny and constant updates to the brief - which included the budget of the campaign being frequently reduced and the owner of Toshiba dying in a "freak yachting accident". Johnny would introduce more and more (somewhat ridiculous) changes, for instance we were told not to use the colour blue in our work, and that "Mr Toshiba" hated Alsatian dogs and lions, and therefore did not want these to be included in our ideas. Although it seemed ridiculous, he explained that we will face similar restrictions and changes when entering the industry, and this is something we will need to be able to work around. Clients will know what they want, and how they want it. It also made the whole process really exciting and fun.

My concept developed around the idea of creating a Utopic experience for the customers, with Toshiba as the means in which to achieve this through the use of their products. I was one of the individuals picked to pitch my idea in front of the group, and it was agreed that this was quite a strong concept. I chose the phrase "THIS IS NOT A DYSTOPIA" as something to draw my audience in, and this seemed to be quite a successful ploy. However, Johnny felt that my application of my concept (of getting the public to create their own idea of a utopia, through interactive and visual effects) was somewhat not defined enough. I completely agreed with him and the rest of the group; I liked my idea but really struggled with producing something that I felt worked well at presenting it.

It was a really valuable - if tiring - couple of days, and Johnny was brilliant at motivating us and making us aware of different sides to design. I really enjoyed it, and feel that the exercise will benefit the way I approach my work, and employment, in the future. It's definitely good not to be scared: "it's really good for your brain / self reliance / confidence".

Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated.

 - I couldn't have put this better myself. The above quote is from American designer Paul Rand, best known for his corporate logo designs. I've been looking at his work during my latest project, as he has produced some wonderful book layouts - many of which are designed for children - that are so aesthetically beautiful that I feel they should be aimed at older ages also. Here's a selection of my favourites:

Recorders.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer creates artworks that depend on your participation to exist. This exhibition records your pulse, fingerprints, voice and image, and these recordings form the actual content of the works. The content is entirely "crowdsourced", to use internet terminology. In this sense the works are playful, open and inclusive.

However, there is also a more ominous or predatory nature at play. The works use biometric and surveillance technology employed by governments and corporations to profile, control and predict our behaviours in the name of efficiency or safety. These tools have built-in prejudices, as when they are used for ethnic profiling.

In an age of reality TV, mobile computing, virtual economies, Google street view and credit databases, Lozano-Hemmer sees technology as an inevitable part of our culture. His approach is to "misuse" the technology to create experiences of connection and complicity by using ambiguity, irony, repetition, performance and self-representation.

I really enjoyed this exhibition. The idea that I was helping to contribute to the work that was on display was an interesting one. For me, tactile and interactive design is really important, and a quality that I want to incorporate into my own work more. 

OWT creative

3 members of the design collective OWT creative; Ben Kither, Jon Hannan and Sarah Stapleton - who I have blogged about previously - gave us a presentation of their work and advice on what to expect during our final year on the course. The group are previous students of Design and Art Direction at MMU, so it was valuable to hear about their own experiences of the course and what to expect in this final push towards graduation. They were very relaxed and helpful; and gave some good advice on how to cope with workloads, approach our briefs, contact designers and produce good portfolios. They are now embarking upon their studies in a masters. I was a little disappointed that they didn't give us much of an insight into the masters course, as this is something that I wanted to know more about, and I think it was the reason Hitch had asked them to speak to us, but despite this the presentation was helpful and interesting.

Printed and Published

The Special Collections area at Sir Kenneth Green Library hosted an exhibition of book design and letterpress printing from Bracketpress (2005-10). The collection comprised of printed books, pamphlets, commercial designs and printed matter, all of which had been produced using traditional printing methods. The pieces were beautiful; I am a big fan of this style of work, as type and image seems a lot more considered and well-presented when it is printed using traditional letterpress techniques rather than digital methods. They seem far more special and precious. Here are some of my favourite pieces:


No. 26: Love Bold and in CAPS [of course], letterpressed postcard:

Nobody's Child Penny Rimbaud, pamphlet:

This Crippled Flesh by Penny Rimbaud, book: