Exam Prep Evaluation

Exam Prep Evaluation

For this Exam unit we were given the choice of three briefs, Illustration, typography or a packaging brief, I choose to do the typography brief whereby I required to create a wall art for 'Elements' a new cafe, my design had to include a typographic element that informed costumers of the food and drinks on offer in the cafe, I had done primary research such as going to the barbican exhibition and looking at other artists work which would have given us a first spark of inspiration before actually choosing our brief, I had also done sketches at the exhibition, later in the project I took my own photos of things relating to the elements or other natural objects aswell as researching online, also doing observational drawings from them to ensure I was developing my final outcome, making sure it was relating to the exam theme, Earth, air, fire and Water.

Some techniques I had used were making digital stencils and layer blending while working on illustrator also using vectors to create an image, I also used photoshop to make a clipping mask, after choosing my brief I went on to using handmade techniques such as paper cutting and painting, I thought by using handmade techniques it would make my work relate more to the exam theme as it looks more natural and less harsh then making something digitally, to generate my ideas I researched online and in books for other artists typography work to gain inspiration and to get a brief staring point for my design ideas, I then started to sketch out any design ideas I could think of, and tried to develop them into a better design which would both look and work better than the original design.

I think one of my best experiments were vectors as I found it the most enjoyable and also I think it produced the best outcome, I liked this experiment as this was a technique I was new to and it was easy to learn and do, however I did not use this technique when designing my final outcome, instead I used the more personal technique of hand made paper cutting as I felt I was able to design a suitable outcome easily and freely, where I then began to refine my ideas into a piece that would be more practical for it's use and wouldn't fall apart.

When I first began thinking about my initial ideas my main inspirations were Raphael Gibara and Alexander Girad, I was largely interested in their typography and also their placement and layout, because of this I first started to design flat wall pieces that would have slight 3D elements to them, however I did not like the physical appearance of this and felt that it was not much of an original idea and wasn't really exciting, I then moved on to look at another artist Louise Nevelson who also made 3D wall pieces although Louise Nevelsons work was different as she added layers to her work so you could see through and could have the letters on different layers, I thought this was a good idea as you could make people see different things depending on the perspective they looked at it from, I then went on to try and create my own 3D layered design whereby I first used a grid to hold the letters together although the actual design did not look pleasing, instead of using a grid I tried a design where the letters were held in-between lines, I thought this design looked better but I had the problem of trying to incorporate the exam theme into my work, in order to do this I would need a more natural flowing design and trying to avoid using boxed borders, I did some research on the internet looking at art nouveau and some pieces of work by Gaudi, I liked the curved shapes and decided to use them in them in my design process for the final outcome as I thought it expressed the exam theme well because it looked more natural and organic.


I am exploring the brief by experimenting with various techniques to try and work within the elements theme, Earth, Air, Fire and water, I chose the typography brief as I took the most interest into typography and I felt that by choosing this brief I could work within my strengths to create the best possible outcome, my outcome will meet the brief as it will be a wall piece/design that will include a typographic element informing costumers on the food and drink available at the cafe.

Raphael Gibara Analysis

Raphael Gibara is a an Brazilian artist who is mainly known for his typography work, but also is known for calligraphy, this particular piece of typography work was made for his personal use as he made it as a wall piece to decorate his mountain house as he does rock climbing as a hobby, I chose to look at this piece of work as I liked that the letters were hand painted onto wood that was found in a dumpster which I think adds to the hand made quality of the piece, the work has also inspired me to attempt to make a similar piece of work using the same techniques, I was mostly attracted to the bold and colourful lettering on each panel of wood and also the fonts used as they looked similar to something you might have seen at an old funfair, I was suprised to find out that this work had not been done for any type of exhibition or something, but for his own personal use, making the work original as the purpose behind the work was for the artist to put in his mountain house as he enjoys rock climbing.


To create this piece of work Raphael Gibara had first found pieces of wood which he had found in a dumpster outside a construction site which he did not want to go to waste, which he then sanded down and varnished, which he then put enamel on and began to paint the lettering, he has used quite bold colours to make the letters which creates a bubbly/happy atmosphere when looking at the work, as well  the shape of the letters themselves which aren't hard bold lines, but more curved bouncy lines and use of serifs on the 'L'

 which I feel my be used to represent how the artist feels about climbing as he said it is one of his hobbies and something he enjoys a lot, so by making this piece of typography he can then express to other people his love for climbing by choice of colour, as he bold primary colours such as red, blue and yellow and secondary colours like orange which work with the bold and curved lines making the letters stand out even more, he has also put a black outline behind each letter which contrasts with the bright colours and brings your attention even more to each letter as they the look slightly elevated and as if they're coming of the wood, or 3D, also font is used to represent his love for climbing as the letters are quite curved and create interesting shapes, which has an effect on the way people will interpret and feel about the work.
Using a raw and natural material like wood makes the work relate to the subject its about, as it's to do with rock climbing and something that might be hard to do and also the wood is rough, similar to the rocks.
The structure of the work could have been both random and designed as the pieces of wood were found so the intention to create this piece of work was only made after finding the wood, although Raphael Gibara was able to work with what he had and composed the pieces of wood next to each other so the work was aesthetically pleasing.

Final Evaluation

The brief for this project asked us to produce a two page magazine page along with a front cover to a professional standard, to produce my two page layout and front cover, we first began by looking at other art/culture magazines and also a range of other genre magazines where, We analysed the layout of the front covers and two page spreads to generate initial ideas of how our magazine layout would look, I then began to think of magazine names, I wanted one associated with "looking" or "seeing" and I came up with "voir" which is french for "see", I got the idea for this name as the magazine is an art/culture magazine therefore its something people will need to look at and see other peoples art work, I then went to to sketch logo ideas which I went on to produce in photoshop, I also took pictures of the art work I would be using to feature in the magazine which I took using an app on my phone, I then edited them on photoshop to make them look more defined. 

To create my two page spread I used  Adobe Illustrator to experiment with a number of page layouts, before deciding on a final layout idea. 

I met my deadline by making sure I timed how I would spend my time experimenting and designing each part of my magazine layout to make sure I had a final idea composed before the deadline.

The part of the process which worked best I think was designing the logo as my final version of the logo was how I had pictured it to be, I met the brief as I was able to produce a two page spread along with a front cover including typical magazine things such as the bar code, issue number etc. 

Something I found did not go well was designing the logo and getting the right arrangements and placements of the letters also the kerning of the letters, if I had more time I would make large improvements to my final outcome as I wasn't very happy with it and I would have liked more time to experiment with different colour themes and fonts and possibly have produced a more aesthetically pleasing outcome, as if I had spent more time experimenting I would not have an outcome.

In this project I was able to improve existing skills such as using the tools on Photoshop to edit pictures and create my logo and also the tools on Illustrator which I used to create my two page layout.  

Artist Interview

The thing I enjoy most about being an artist is I have the power to create what ever I want and try to make the ideas/visions in my head become a reality, I am mostly inspired by artist such as patrick Rochon and william Klien as I was introduced to their light painting recently and have taken an interest into their work and I like to try and recreate work similar to theirs, just adding my own personal touch to it, with my work I like to experiment and be random, I like to not know what the outcome of my work will be, before creating my work I take inspiration for the things around me and think how I could develop these into a piece of art.
In the future I see my self doing something visual and creative and taking my ideas and trying to make them bigger and better.

Page Layout analysis

On this magazine layout the there is very little text which is placed at the top left of the first page and also a large title at the bottom of the page with a quote under it, and the remaining spaces on the pages are taken up by images, as the entire second page is taken up by the images, the thing that stands out the most is the title as it is filled in with the imagery so it works in with the images and is attractive as the images, the type that has been used for the font is bold and very simple which I think is more effective as it reflects the page because the whole page it's self is very simple and the amount of writing is kept to a minimum, whereas the other magazine spread contains mainly writing, but still uses a bold and simple type face so this could also suggest that it is a sophisticated article.

There is use of a colour scheme of black, white and the colours in the photo which I think adds to the simple but effective look to the article, the text is in black against a white background which I think makes the photo's stand out in the article the most as they are very colourful and attract the most attention, also the title looks as if it is a cut out of the photo, so it has the same colour scheme as the actual photo so it equally draws as much attention, the photo's used are directly to do with the article, because its about skateboarding.

The typography in this article is tiny compared to the images used, as it is placed directly next to the images so it gives a small insight into what the image is for/about, the impact of using large images with small typography is that it suggest that the subject is more of a practical experience rather than something you would read about, as the article is to do with skateboarding.

On this page layout text wrapping is used around the image of the building on the first page, and its as if the text has had to make space for this image which shows that it is the one of the main subject of the article, the images in the article 
are mainly kept to the top or the edges of the page with the large amounts of text placed besides the and more to the middle of the page, which is very different to the other article's layout as in the other article the images seem to overpower the amount of text, although in both articles a simple and bold font has been used to create a simple look, however the simplicity of the font for this article has been used to represent formality and sophistication.

In terms of scale the images and text take up around the same amount of space on the page because most of the images take up about half a page, and the text fits around it which takes up another half of the page, which draws and equal amount of attention to both the text and images.

On the page photo's have been used in relation to the article, the colours of the text have been kept simple by using just black and white which works in with the sophistication of the article and will appeal to the target audience.

Photgraphy analysis

Henrik Bonnevier

Henrik Bonnevier is a swedish photographer whose work includes fashion still life and has had clients such as,Condé Nast Traveller, Bon Magazine, Gourmet, Toyota, IKEA, and Moby and the work is used to advertised their products.

 Colour plays an important part in his work as he uses high contrast colours and lighting, which clashes making some objects stand out from the rest of the image, which he uses to advertise, as the brighter colours are used to show the more important objects being advertised so it draws attention to those certain objects.
There is also a very planned composition in all of his work because he uses a range of objects therefore he needs to make sure everything fits together and that the objects trying to be advertised stand out the most, his work is quite contemporary as he is photographing fashion items therefore it as to look appealing to the target audience.

Edward Weston

Edward Weston was a 20th century American photographer who has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers", he photographed a number of subjects including, landscapes, still lifes, nudes, portraits and genre scenes.

Alot of Westons work is very close up to the subject and doesn't always contain the whole object, this is done to focus on the detail of the subject and show the textures in the subject, he uses dark backgrounds throughout most of his work so that the subject it's self stands out from the the back ground although there is not much contrast between the background and the subject as the set up of the shoot would have been very simple and he may have used only one light therefore making the image appear soft and delicate as there isn't much contrast, although using one light highlights certain areas of the image which directs your attention to the the small details within the image.


Andrea Bricco

Andrea Bricco is a food, lifesyle and travel photographer who lives in los angeles, she has been photographing for many well know restaurants in southern california such as  Spago, CUT, Bestia, Tar & Roses, Rustic Canyon, Alma and Din Tai Fung.

Andrea's work looks alot more natural and organic compared to both Henrik Bonnevier and Edward Westons work as the colours she uses are mainly white and soft delicate colours with most people would associate with purity and natural things, the picture of the food it's self in the background is hand drawn which adds to the effect of the food looking very natural and organic, also the use of a white back ground makes the plate stand out the most in the picture showing the audience it is the main subject/feature in the picture, the picture is taken from a birds eye view as the work was most likely done for a menu or recipe therefore the whole image would need to be seen.

Illustration Analysis

                                                       

Matthew Midgley

This piece of work was done by Matthew Midgley, it was made for an advertisement for Ikea.

 I think to create this he would have used water-colours and fine-liners and pens to do outlines which gives the work a hand drawn touch, which also relates to the scale of the work, which is quite small so it gives a small delicate touch which works with the hand drawn look, the main subject is the only thing in the colour whereas the other drawings are not in colour showing that they are not as important as the main subject, also a white background has been used which brings out the coloured image more, however with both Natsko Seki's and Andrea Josephs work they do not necessarily have a main subject and have many things going on in their work.

Matthew has done work for other companies other than Ikea such as converse, I think he is chosen to do work for these companies because his work has a home/hand made quality to it, therefore it implies what is being advertised has a home/hand made quality to it and would attract a certain audience, there are no pictures of people included in his work which show he advertises products like food and home decoration rather than things such as clothing and fashion, unlike Natsko Seki who includes people in his work, which makes the work seem more social and as if it is something for people.

Personally I like Matthew Midgleys work because I like the hand drawn look to it, and the contrast of the materials between the watercolour and the fine-liners and also I like the look of water colour work as I like the different shades and tones that you can get when using them.

Nastko Seki 

This piece of work was done by Natsko Seki who has done work  for clients such as Louis Vuitton, Transport for London and waterstones.

To make this piece of work I think Natsko Seki would have used materials such as paper, paints and pens/pencils,and techniques such as paper cutting, this is effective in his work because the materials clash and create a contrast between each other and make certain elements of the image stand out from each other, for example in this piece of work the trees stand out the most as they look as if they have been cut out from a magazine and they are a different material to the rest of the image.

Natsko Seki has done work for large brands/companies therefore the work has to look more professional, which I think is represented with the materials used, as there are straight black lines drawn in pen used  for the buildings in the back ground and block colours which gives the work a formal and simple look, the use of the white buildings in the background of the picture makes all the colourful objects stand out more in comparison, the work 

is for commercial use rather than for personal use which matthew Midgley and Andrea Josephs work is more likely for as their work is hand drawn, which is why I think Natsko Seki includes people in his work to make it look more social, as the large companies have big audiences of people they want to appeal to therefore adding people into the work for an advertisement might make people feel more involved or included.

Natsko Seki was one of my favourite artist out of Andrea Joseph and Matthew Midgley as I liked the used on different materials on each other and how they contrasted each other, and how her work is interesting and there is alot going on in the work.

Andrea Joseph















This Piece of work was done by Andrea Joseph, this particular piece of work was done for personal use, although she has done work for exhibitions.

To create this piece of work Andrea Joseph would have used materials like biro pen and pencil as that is what she uses throughout most of her work, which gives the hand drawn quality to the work and makes it a lot more personal to the artist because when you draw by hand not every detail is perfect, which is similar to how Matthew Midgley works, although there is no main subject as all the objects are more or less the same size and there is not colour on the page therefore it does not make any object in particular stand out maybe suggesting they are all as important as each other and also to draw attention to the fact that each item has been drawn out individually in detail so you aren't just supposed to focus on one item in the image.
Andrea Joseph does work for exhibitions and  for personal use, I think she chooses to do this because her work is a form of expressing her self.