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Shufti Photoshoot

As promised here are some of the images for my Shufti Photoshoot modelled by my gorgeous housemate Izzy :)

The theme I chose out of the 4 was rendezvous. My "narrative" for the shoot was someone taking a rendezvous with a memory, i.e taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting a place, or a moment in time from the past. I shot at the German market in Leeds city centre and really wanted to capture a sort of childhood reminiscence. Will post up pictures of my final magazine spreads when I complete them!

x

izzy's blog: http://www.magazinebyme.blogspot.com/

RIKA magazine

I love these spreads for RIKA magazine which has recently been updated with a new identity, type design and art direction from studio NR2154. Also good inspiration for my Shufti spreads which I will be putting together later on today. Pics from my shoot to come soon!

x

www.thisiscollate.com

http://www.nr2154.com/

Not a fan of this AT ALL but...

Once again the ever enlarging role that Facebook plays in our lives is demonstrated. DDB Paris has created a personalised Facebook- book for company Bouygues Télécom. People purchasing the book could choose the time frame captured and the people included in the book.

The concept behind it is that people share all their treasured memories and photos on Facebook, but they can all get lost and forgotten in "cyberspace". Although I think this is an interesting concept, and something I worry about myself having thousands of digital photos in a library but very few printed, I really hate the idea of this book. I think it is ugly and badly designed, literally looking like a bunch of screen shots from Facebook thrown together. Someone also made the interesting point on a comment on the CR blog that so many people share extremely trivial details about their lives on Facebook, they would seem not nearly importantly enough to print in a book, which I strongly agree with being a big user of the site myself!

This book for me is just another step into how we live our lives straight through Facebook. Sorry, not convinced.

Here's a video of it as well if you REALLY want to see more...

When Facebook becomes a book from Siavosh Zabeti on Vimeo.

x

http://www.creativereview.co.uk

Love this.

From the book "Pick Ups and Come ons" available at Urban Outfitters.

x

http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk

Klas Ernflo

Seen on It's Nice That, this piece by Klas Ernflo particularly caught my eye with relation to a current typography project I am working on. This piece by Ernflo depicts a story through changing the colour of the type to create a picture relating to the copy. For my typography project I am currently looking at the form of typographic communication in newspapers, and how I can adjust the typography to further communicate the message of an article, so this may be something interesting to explore.

x

http://www.klasherbert.com/

ASOS Magazine

I was very excited this month to receive the October edition of the ASOS magazine, the edition I helped work on for two weeks this summer. I really loved my experience at ASOS, and although I was there for such a short time I felt like I learnt so much and really had the chance to get involved. As there's only one main art editor/designer working on the magazine, I got to get some really hands on experience and spent most of my time working on layouts to go in the October issue. It is a fairly small team working on the magazine who all made me feel really welcome. The whole experience really made me appreciate how much work and preparation goes into the making of a magazine, and made me realise that I would definitely consider magazine design as a career path for the future!

Here are some of the spreads I worked on...

Looove this!

Ikea have created a coffee table cookbook featuring 30 classic Swedish recipes. Inspired by "high fashion and japanese minimalism", the still life photographs feature all of the ingredients of the recipe measured out and arranged in clinical, precise geometric shapes. There's something so visually appealing about this to me, makes me look at cooking in a whole new light!

Louis Vuitton City Guide

Here's a nice little video from Louis Vuitton. Particularly like the way it integrates typography into the landscape of the film with a bit of illustration and animation thrown in!

Leeds Art Gallery

For one of my modules this year we have been set a brief named "Picturing Time". In this brief we have to explore time as a concept and produce some sort of representation which celebrates and informs an audience of one of its aspects.

There are no constraints, we can use any media, and we can choose our target audience. Broad eh?!

As a starting point for the brief we all took a (very wet and windy!) trip to Leeds Art gallery. We were asked to look at the work of Kevin Laycock, one of the textile tutors at university, a piece which could be related to time, and a piece we just liked!

Kevin Laycock & Michael Berkeley - Collision

For "Collision", Kevin Laycock has collaborated with musician Michael Berkeley to explore how musical score can be translated into a visual format. The project is made up of a series of paintings and also in a series of digital projected images.

Here is a picture of one of the pieces. (Apologies for poor image quality)

All of the paintings reflect the underlying structure of musical pieces by Berkeley. All feature strong lines, divisions and numbers to create structured and in depth pieces the viewer wants to investigate closer. The image above is my personal favourite from the collection, a series of 27 postcard type paintings. All of the paintings are created in oil paint, and have similar refined colour schemes.

The film was in a separate room set over 4 screens in a wide landscape format with Berkeley's classical composition playing in the background. As you watch the film, strong, graphic patterns emerge in time to the music. It is a highly structured piece, with strong bold lines, and numbers moving in scale and time to the music. The strength of the line reflects the "strength" in the music, softer bits have thinner, weaker lines; harsh strong lines appear at the punchier, more threatening times. The piece features very strong colours, also in reflection to the point in the music. Reds, oranges, yellows and blues were all dominant, contrasted to a white background. The film in collaboration with the music creates a lot more intense an experience for the viewer, than either on its own may have done alone. Together they are highly sensory, you are not only listening to the music but viewing its structure and timing, its tone and emotion.

It is interesting to see how the theme of time in music can be reflected visually or in a motion piece.

Peter Blake - Girl in window

I chose to look at this installation by Peter Blake for my "time" piece. It features found objects in a box coming out of the wall with its own internal light. Immediately intrigued by the physical qualities of the piece I investigated further into the "window" and discovered it had a lot of nostalgic and vintage qualities, i.e various aspects of time. Inside the box was an old portrait of the queen, old photographs and antique matchboxes. The whole installation was almost like looking into a small time capsule into someone's room from many years ago. I like pieces that can take you back to a particular era or point in time, almost as if picturing a memory, which Blake has done from just using some carefully selected objects in this installation. This could be an interesting angle or aspect of time to investigate and experiment with for the "Picturing Time" brief.

Paul Nash - The Shore

I found this piece by Paul Blake particularly pleasing to the eye. I was drawn to its muted colour palette and sharp geometric lines and shapes. It seems to capture a quiet moment, and while not a visually beautiful landscape, for me it creates quite a pleasant, calm looking place.

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/artgallery/default.aspx

A new generation of magazine?

Recently we have been seeing more and more magazines going "interactive" for their readers. Here are a couple of examples that have caught my eye recently...

AnOther magazine

Baillie Walsh has made this 3D film in collaboration with AnOther magazine featuring Kate Moss. It was shot at a speed of 1000 frames per second with Phantom cameras built especially for the project specifically for capturing slow motion formations in 3D. Previous work from Walsh included the Kate Moss hologram seen at the Alexander McQueen A/W 2006 show.

You receive the 3D glasses with the latest issue of AnOther magazine then head to their website to watch the film. A great example of using both print and digital formats within the magazine industry.

Wallpaper*

Wallpaper* magazine has had a go at creating moving image through the medium of print. They got together with agency Dentsu to create moving images from David Lynch and stage designer Robert Wilson. Using the "stripe cinema" technique, the images are produced in either 6 or 12 frames which appear as stripes on the page. The reader/viewer then drags a piece of black stripy acetate provided with the magazine over the image to animate it. See a video from magCulture demonstrating it here...

I love seeing this new wave of magazines experimenting with interactivity in print and look forward to see more examples in the future!

x

www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog

What Interns Want

CR blog recently wrote of a project by LCC graduates called Mind the Gap. This project is based around various agencies giving advice to students about their move into the real world of design. They also compiled this list of things that Interns really want when on a placement. I know this has caused a lot of reaction from my fellow design students, and I personally agree with every point!

This is what they wrote...

One:

For young creatives the basics to a good internship are being in a place that allows them to prove themselves whilst learning the trade. Every student wants the chance to show what they're about and feel part of the team.

Two:

Many students would like more insight in terms of being present with designers/creatives when they attend or conduct meetings so that they can observe how people in the industry interact and work with each other.

Three:

What interns find really beneficial is if the studio regularly informs them about current projects and spends a couple of minutes updating them and going through work with them.

Four:

Always try to get interns working on live projects rather than setting intern briefs, even if the work is sometimes monotonous or simply researching. The most rewarding internships are the ones where students feel they have contributed to something 'real'.

Five:

The question of money is always a difficult one. Covering costs makes doing the internship more possible, but contributing towards the interns' time will also make them feel valued, resulting in more commitment and a better work ethic.

Six:

Young creatives want to soak up as much information as possible, whilst interning they would like the team to be helpful and proactive when they have questions or problems.

Seven:

Structure in an internship is very important. Students often find working for free offers little reward, but as with college, having deadlines and grades to achieve is rewarding. They feel it would be beneficial to be mentored so that it is clear what they are doing right, and what they need to work on.

Eight:

To avoid any embarrassing mishaps, interns would like agencies to spell out what is expected of them; what time it's OK to go home/have lunch etc.

Nine:

A brief introduction to everyone on the team will make the intern feel much more comfortable and less hesitant to ask questions and get involved.

Ten:

One of the advantages of doing internships is the opportunity it creates for students to build relationships. Without suggesting the need to hold their hands, students appreciate the effort made to introduce them to other creative professionals and develop their contacts.

x

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog

http://www.mindtheg-a-p.com

RIP Grafik

I was extremely disappointed to see that Grafik magazine has had to stop printing as their publisher, Adventures in Publishing, has gone into liquidation. In my opinion Grafik was the best magazine out there for Graphic design and was one I had been subscribed to for the past couple of years.





They have a full page of bereft comments from readers on the post to which they have replied with...

"We're working on a way of bringing Grafik back—either with the same name, or in a new guise. Things are very up in the air at the moment, rest assured that we will keep you posted.

In the meantime we will be keeping the website, Facebook page and Twitter going— though we may be a bit quiet on those fronts for the rest of the week. "

I think it's really sad and disappointing. Many of the comments have suggested that the magazine should instead take a digital format, iPad style, which is no doubt cheaper and will soon be a very popular format. Many magazines are already providing their magazine in a digital format- such as Wallpaper. However I think it just won't be the same. I loved a nice chunky edition of Grafik coming through my letter box. Call me old fashioned but I like to read things in my actual hands, not just on a screen, and I really appreciated the paper and quality of printing Grafik provided.

Who knows what the future will hold for Grafik, but I will still be following them online. It'll be interesting to see how many other printed magazines will also stumble into the same problems Grafik had.

x


http://www.grafikmag.com

Olympic Brief - Skeet Shooting

So have been meaning to blog about this for a while. In the summer semester we were set an Olympic brief where each of us were randomly given one of the more underfunded, less popular Olympic sports to promote to a randomly designated audience. Our tutors all came round with a hat containing bits of folded up paper of which we had to pick out. My sport- Skeet. I had absolutly no idea what Skeet was which didn't fill me with much optimism from the start, but after a quick google search I discovered it was a form of clay pigeon shooting. And my audience.... women aged between 25-30.

Basically we had to promote and encourage engagement with this sport to this particular audience. I found it a particularly challenging brief knowing next to nothing about the sport and fairly little about the target audience so I had to do a lot of research. Many thanks to Bisley Shooting ground as well who were kind enough to help me out and actually gave me an interview with one of the female shooting instructors which was unbelievably helpful!

From my research I found that Skeet shooting is a sport with massive gender disparities. This is a major weakness in the sport which puts off women getting involved and leads to stereotyping and assumptions that the sport is for men only and is conducted in an intimidating environment. To get women aged 25-30 to take part in Skeet shooting, I believed this was the area of the sport that must be amended, therefore I chose this strategy in order to get a sustainable growth in participation in the sport.

My concept in which to do this is Ladies Day.






From my research I found that these days do in fact already exist at selected clubs around the country, such as Bisley, however awareness of them is extremely poor, particularly to women who aren’t already a member of a shooting club. Ladies Day is the best way to fight the gender disparities in Skeet whilst also encompassing other strategies such as promoting Skeet as a sociable sport, and also providing a way of attracting newcomers to the sport. My audience are a busy and sociable group, who would like more time to participate in more sporting activities. Ladies Day provides a sociable, enjoyable and active day out for my audience, giving them a day to themselves as a time out from their busy lives with other like minded women. It also allows them to try to sport with friends in a much less intimidating environment and will encourage them to have a go at something new.

The ways in which I chose to digitally promote Ladies Day was through moving banners on female orientated webpages, such as Marie Claire and Handbag.com, a Facebook community page and a central website. My aims with these media channels were to raise awareness of Ladies Day, making it an attractive choice for a day out, also getting women talking about it between themselves and influencing each other to participate, whilst also providing them with more information about the sport. These are all media channels I found my target audience particularly responded to, so together I thought they would provide an effective package in promoting Ladies Day, and in turn raising participation in Skeet shooting.

Here is my banner in action...



youtube probably isnt the best thing to show it on but wasnt sure how to embed a flash file otherwise!

And stills from my webpage and facebook community page!

x


http://www.bisleyshooting.co.uk

Brussels!

Haven't blogged in SO long!! Life has been pretty hectic at the minute. Did 4 weeks of work experience with a digital design agency called Cloudspotting in Leeds. Was definitely a good experience, learned a lot and everyone was really nice to a big thank you to them! Just got back off holiday with my friends from uni as well which was a lot of fun. Summer for me now is a couple more placements which I'm really looking forward to and hanging out with all of my friends at home. Good times!

Thought I'd just quickly write about a trip I took about a month ago to Brussels for the weekend. I'd never been before and I have to say I thought it was a really cool place. We walked around and explored the city a LOT and I loved the quirkyness of it- lots of old beautiful buildings, together with scruffier parts with little splashes of design, wall murals, graffiti and interesting side alleys to see and explore. Some pics for you...

This was a tourist information centre aimed at young people. I was immediately drawn to the window where hundreds of post it notes were stuck on the exterior...

On a closer look all of these post it notes had been written by people who had visited Brussels with their recommendations of what to do in the city. I thought this was such a good idea, really personal and visually looked great. You could also tear off a post it and take it with you if you wanted to.

So that was my trip! More blogs to come more frequently hopefully!

x

Waterstone's Rebrand

Well it's what everyone's been talking about in the design world... the Waterstone's rebrand. Here is the logo before and after...

A lower case, sans serif typeface. It is still a little unclear on exactly what the brief from Waterstone's was to Venturethree, the agency behind the rebrand, however It was no doubt an attempt to update and refresh Waterstone's image, and make it more online-friendly.

Venturethree say on the project:

"We are transforming the Waterstone's brand, with an exciting new invitation to customers to "feel every word", and a new symbol that takes on the characteristics of different genres and locations."

I can certainly see where the agency has gone with the project, and I quite like the concept. I also think some of the imagery they have made using the typeface work quite well, like this one below...

I like the way they are really trying to involve the brand and logo with the different genres and themes of the books and I agree that it has produced some interesting imagery.

However... as a complete rebrand, I am not a personal fan of the logo, and much prefer the old serif. Like many people have been saying, I think the new logo has no particular link to the reputation, heritage and tradition of Waterstone's as a classic bookshop and on its own, has no visual representation or association with books. I personally think the brand could have been updated keeping the serif typeface, and find it a shame that everything is so digitally orientated these days. I think that particularly with the closure of Borders bookshop, Waterstone's really stood out as a unique breed of shop on the highstreet, however now you could mistake the look of it for a music store, as a lot of people have been noticing, from the vast similarities to the hmv logo.

I also think the promotional posters don't sit particularly well as a piece of design, with the logo in the top right looking very awkwardly placed.

So in conclusion, I'm not convinced. I can see some good ideas within the rebrand but I'm not sure it still effectively communicates the essence of the Waterstone's brand. I'll definitely be walking past Waterstones in town to see if it'll change my mind when I see it in the flesh and within the context of the high street!

x

http://venturethree.com

Topshop Make Up Packaging

Noticed this new make up range in the Leeds branch the other day. I was certainly struck by the packaging when I first saw it, good use of hand drawn type, nice colour schemes and a pinch of illustration.

Topshop says on the collection...

"Bold and innovative, Topshop Make Up combines the hottest trends and colours with the very best in quality. Applying the Topshop spirit to cosmetics, a Core collection of first class beauty essentials sits alongside a capsule Trend Collection of directional hues, which will be refreshed twice every season to keep your look hot off the catwalk!"

I think the style of this packaging is matched really well to the style and identity of Topshop-young fresh and fun. It's designed by Sarah Thorne from the store's creative department. A creative department I would certainly love to get some work experience at!

They've also nicely used social networking to raise the hype of the range where you can give yourself a virtual makeover and update your look to the Facebook group.

http://www.facebook.com/Topshop

Topshop seems to be a brand really on the pulse of their target market, and is spot on certainly with the look of this range. Will definitely be heading down and trying the products out for myself!

x

http://www.topshop.com

http://www.grafikmag.com/index.php?m=GR&sub=GRdetail&id=451