Wednesday, 28 November 2012

OUGD401 Design Context: Critical Positions on Advertising


  • Image of new york- advertising everywhere, being bombarded. Instructional messages. the constant advertising obviously has an effect on you.  (new) 90's 11'000 commercials every year.They range from billboards , magazine adverts.Everywhere we walk its everywhere.
  • Social Networking, Adverts everywhere targeting being tracked adverts appropriate to you.
  • Karl Marx- Theorist , Anti Capitalism, Anti Consumer.
  • Modern consumer , culture, Within consumer culture. They construct there identities. People identify themselves through what they consume.
  • Even food has been branded, some what snobbery.
  • Fair trade biggest scam. 50% of what you buy is actually fair trade.
  • Liking & buying things because they fit in with a certain style.
  • If someones things had been taken away like there clothes music fashion sense , style. They would have to express themselves in another way because they would have nothing to show people what they are like.
  • We believe that things mean something. somehow well access symbolic power.
  • We buy this poker because its a better life style. Advertising is extremely powerful.
  • Calvin Klein aftershave- symbolic shows people in the image models, cool , edgy. Kate Moss featured in the ad. To buy this is to be sophisticated & young.  
A system does have to create false needs.
  • Aesthetic- something more modern, better design we think we need it . Clothing - winter collection , summer collection.
  • Novelty- New software technology. We feel out of it without it.
  • Planned Obsolescence - Companys know when they will bring something new out some gadgets have circuit boards that will run out.Usually after the warranty has ran out.
  • The company in which a product is produced is kept hidden.
  • When the product possess human quality, eg. fun loving
  • Instead of thinking creatively we think one dimensionally - preventing us from living full meaningful and creative lives.

OUGD401 Design Practice: A History of Type



A simple design decision, specifically a font choice can effect the connotation.
  • Calibiri: Microsoft stock font, simplistic + generic
  • Gill sans: Refined, English, modernity
  • Curls MT: Party font

Visual communication - Writing - Verbal communication


Typography

Words have a linguistic function and a font supplies another.
  • Meta communication: Communication that indicates how verbal information should be interpreted
  • Paralingustics: Paralanguage refers to the non-verbal elements of communication used to modify meaning and convey emotion
  • Kinesis: Movement




The age of print '1450'

Before print, specialist monks created books in calligraphy.
  • Gutenberg printing press
  • British letterforms where based on the Roman alphabet where they chiseled shapes into stone creating the serif style.
  • Medeval dark ages created a gothic script 1450. It was used on the Gutenberg press and also is reffered to as black letter.


Type classification

Humanist

  • The humanist type reflected handwriting, elegance, lighter tone and movement toward legibility. One of the first types was called Jenson - 'Nicolas Jenson 1475'.
  • Geofry Tory believed that the proportion of the alphabet should reflect the ideal human form.

 Old style

AdobeGaramondSp.svg

  •  Garamond, platino, perpetu, goudy old style are all old style fonts
  • Inspired by Venice, Italy in the renaissance era and connote class, tradition and sophistication.


Transitional


  • Mid 18th century - Romain du roi font
  • J. Baskerville - contrast between thick + thin elements in letterforms, was deemed illegible and blinding.
Modern

Source  


  •  1970's modern/ Didone - Didot, French typography created by Giambattista Bondi
  • Typography had an essence of style, glamour and sophistication.

Slab serif (Egyptian)


  • 1800's, exoticism, brash , market traders, brick and blocky, billboards and headlines
  • Fat Face is an inflated, hyper bold font.

Sans serif


  • Berthold 1876
  • Times New Roman  Stanley Morison, 1932 created to remark the greatness of Rome and it's empire.

 Type communicates visually and is not just a vehicle for communication.

Wednesday, 21 November 2012

OUGD401 Lecture Notes: Graffiti and Street Art


  • Caves a Lascaux france - scratched with animals bones natural pigments.
  • Ancient roman graffiti - From pompeii italy , graffiti on wall.
  • Kilroy/chad WWll engraving Kilroy on the world war ll in washington dc.
  • Paris May'68 - we are the power - civil unrest inspiring cultural creative material
  • Chris Osbourne - covers graffiti scene in the uk.
1970s New York scene
  • Spray can graffiti
  • Evolves alongside hip hop culture
  • Making the language on the streets visible 
  • Announcing a presence and saying 'we will not be ignored'
  • Jon Narr photographer 1973 , messages be sent from deprived areas.
Jean - Michael Basquiat (1960-88) 
  • SAMO-Same-OH , 
  • Poetic but confusing style , humour.
  • Death of SAMO 1979 kills his character.Neo expressionist painting 
  • Warhol & Basquiat , General electric with waiter 1984
  • One of americas largest corporations
  • Collaborated towards the end of his life Basquiat died of a heroin overdose at 27.
Keith Haring 
  • Subway art
  • Huge galleries , melbourne
  • Pop shop closed 2005 - selling T-shirts , toys , posters bearing his signature images. Celebrity hang out
  • 'My shop is an extension of what i was doing in the subways'
  • John Feckner Broken promises 1980 in two languages on to a building.
  • Jenny Holzer - LCD digital display . 'Abuse of power comes as no surprise' 1980 - Truism messages that state the obvious but prompt you to think.
  • Video game culture - FELIZ 1984 From berlin wall. Comment on the lack of availability of brands and technology in the eastern bloc.
  • Advertising - TATS CRU 1997 for coca cola
  • Gaming - Bomb the world (2004) 
  • Jet Set Radio (2000-2003)
  • sideways new york ps3 2011 , grand theft auto - tagging in games
Invader
  • French artist born 1969
  • First mosaic in mid 1990s paris
  • Mosaic tile which has permanency as it is weatherproof and more difficult to remove than paper print
  • tiles are pixel like
  • the invasion spreads first across french cities.
  •  Attack of Montpellier - Conceptual element:points on a map form a space invader
Re-emergence of street art
  • Banksy kate moss
  • Shepard Fairey 2008
  • Parisian Photographer JR, Favaela Morro Da Provienda -Rio 2008 - Photographing the women of the town.
  • Blu(italy) and Os Gemeos(Brazil) Lisbon 2010.
  • Blu-animated graffiti (2008)
  • Corsa ad 2011
123 KLAN-France - Founded as a graffiti crew in 1989 by scion and klor have gradually turned their hands to illustration.
Stussy- '' Artist Series" tshirt with names on from people from there 'ghetto.
Paul Curtis (Moose) reverse Graffiti-removal of the dirt so he's not taking anything away from the environment.

THE GLOBAL PICTURE.
  • Free art friday is an art movement in which artists place free art out in public for people to enjoy and take home. They work world wide and get artists to donate there work and they give it away for free.
  • Sam 3 (spain) Murcia 2010
  • VHILS aka Alexandrea Farto ( Portugual) London 2008
  • Faith 71 - Amsterdam , Red stickers round a natural hole in plaster 
  • Diva (Brooklyn) 
  • Fafi(France) - Cartoon sexuality , brings the female figure to the street
  • Miss Van, Herakut , Swoon
Art of Resistance
  • Banksy 2005 , The israel government is building a wall surround the occupied palestinian terrotories.
  • Girl with balloons floating up to make it over the wall & Indigenous art.

Sunday, 18 November 2012

OUGD401: Aesthetics, Beauty Style and Taste.

This studio task was based on our understanding of 'aesthetics'. Thetask that was to be completed for today was to collect type, image and type and image designs, 1 of each that we liked and one we disliked. During the session we looked at everyone's images and had to explain to the rest of the group why we had chosen them, in terms of aesthetic quality.


Fred taught us:


  • It is important that we don't let content become lost in aesthetic
  • Aesthetics looks at the philosophy of beauty and taste
  • Don't design for designers, instead design for people

As a class we came up with a list of words to describe aesthetics qualities 

Possitive
  • Illustrative
  • Minimal
  • Clean
  • Symmetrical
  • Sophisticated
  • Crisp
  • Textured
  • Harmonized
  • Organic

Negative
  • Blurry
  • Cluttered
  • Random
  • Illegible
  • Boring
  • Grainy
  • Dull
  • Inconsistent
  • Confusing
  • Cheap

We then looked at our partners photo's and wrote down our immediate responses to the work shown. We found that some of our responses were the same, This showed that as a class we all had the same understanding of aesthetics, however since we work so closely it is also a disadvantage that our tastes are so similar. As we grow as designers our understanding and taste of aesthetics will change, and our personal tastes shouldn't be so widely agreed. 

In our partners we then had to come up with 10 aesthetically driven rules of graphic design:


  • The concept must be clear.
  • The colours should be consistent.
  • The design must be innovative and creative.
  • The execution must be of a professional standard.
  • The design must be engaging and interesting to it's audience.
  • Work should be structured, organised and hold a strong format.
  • Take in to consideration the link between text and image.
  • Design has to be legible and the message/purpose must be instantly clear.
  • There should be a delicate balance between concept and aesthetics.

We next had to chose from the list, or create 3 of our own personal aesthetic rules.

  • The concept must be clear and concise.
  • The design must be innovative and creative.
  • The design must be executed to a professional standard.



We then compiled all of our personal rules on to the board so we could look at and compare everyones rules.



We also stuck our rule individually on post its and compared one another's rules in the class.


I chose this image as one that went against my aesthetic rules as the design is over baring and defies consistency and crispness. The use of multiple typefaces displayed create inconsistency through the different weights, sizes and colours which lacks a professional edge. Also the alignment of the text makes it illegible and hard to read for an audience. The colours are dull and washed out which doesn't make it stand out or look appealing. The use of multimedia also doesn't connect well together as there is an unnecessary use of geometric shapes and photo effects that makes the design unharmonised.


I chose this design as one that conforms to my rules. The design showcases a well executed set of design posters that all work cohesively through theme and colour scheme. The colours are simplistic yet chic and work beautifully through the use of different paper. The design is also crisp and sharp due to the finishing touch, text and overall aesthetic. The alignment of text works as an image also for the posters which makes it aesthetically pleasing and the design overall is harmonized trough the use of colours and geometric shapes used.






Wednesday, 7 November 2012

OUGD401 Lecture Notes: History of Creative Advertising

Robin Wight -
'The most fun you can have with your clothes on'
(WCRS) '118 118' & 'The futures bright, the futures Orange'

William Hesketh - First British tycoon 
Born in 1851
Color printing large scale
Great exhibition of 1851 - Photos and color technology 

Lever Brothers - James Darcy and William Hesketh Lever
Ubiquitous brand
Height of the empire. 


1860's cereal companies figured out how to print, fold and fill cardboard boxes - KELLOGS. 

Soap was sold in long bars that were cut up

BRAND VALUE

Advertising aided by tax cuts on newspapers 1855- 1860

Printing boom - technological progress in reproduction and color printing

1880's - color images and reproductions of magazines

FIRST MULTINATIONAL

Contemporary paintings in advertising 

 


Children were a sign of life - emotional strategy 

First creative advertising -

Selecting and presenting contemporary art works, communicating more powerfully a desired message
Message told in an interesting and innovative way

MEDICINE, CHOCOLATE AND SOAP - Foremost to be advertised globally

PRODUCT PLACEMENT
BRAND LOYALTY 
DEMOCRATIZATION

advertisingarchives.co.uk

'Capture the children' - target the mothers through children - free gifts for children.   
Directed at mothers - enduring a lifetime of brand loyalty.
2 million pounds from first 2 decades of making soap.

Palm oil - A vision to disguise slavery? 

First ambient - innovative spaces - doors left open at train station

Text in 'Sunlight Soap' spoke directly to working class women
Promise of happiness?

Advertisers made it their business to persuade consumers of their hygiene problems. 
HIGH FEELING STRATEGY 
Discrepancy between self, and self ideal image of self. 

Saturday, 3 November 2012

OUGD401 Design Context: 5 examples of modernism and post modernism

MODERNISM:








One of the most famous examples of modernist design is the New York subway map. It is functional and clear It fulfils it's purpose with out any added embellishments or frills to detract from the functionality. The map is minimal and provides the minimum amount of information for the map to be usable. This map is clear example of 'Form follows function' As it is not designed for aesthetic value, but instead designed to be a useable clear map.



This poster is an example of Modernist design. It employs key skills such as hierarchy of text. The word 'fear' is the most obvious word on the page and draws your attention to the middle of the poster. The san serif typeface is also typical of this style of design. I think this example of Modernist design works well. It is clear and functional.


POST MODERNISM:



This piece of design by David Carson shows no regards to layout or structure. It is mostly illegible and the readability is poor. I find it hard to detract the message from this piece of design. It connotes a sense of disorganisation and randomness. I don't think this design is very strong at all.



The colour scheme of this magazine cover are garish, bright and contrasting. There is a number of different typefaces used and the whole design lacks clarity and rhythm. It is clear however from the loose layout that it is a magazine cover, So in that sense it is a functioning piece of design.