Term 1 - a brief summary.

I think it's safe to say that it's taken me a while to adjust to the workload of term 1.  I have enjoyed learning new skills in the workshops and the idea of doing something different each week.  It kept my mind fresh at the beginning of the course.  The introduction of the thought process we discovered in Catherine's workshop has really helped with the research project we have been given.  I found the project quite hard to get into mainly because the 3 variables my group got were very broad so we all had to try to find a way of zoning in on one idea.  So rather than having so many different ideas going on a once we limited it to a theme and went from there.  I have enjoyed the course so far although there have been times where I obviously will feel the pressure.  The 100 collages we are doing have proven to be quite time consuming simply because i have been focussing more on the other work.  Jo Spencer's computer lessons are really helpful as I am a beginner with programs like InDesign.  I think over the holiday period though i am going to go back over the tutorials and do them again when it isn't rushed so I can take the time to actually learn what I am doing. I've got to figure out a way to balance the work load out so I don't feel so pressured at times.  I am looking forward to what term 2 brings especially with the new projects and seeing how I will react to it.

100 collages

I'm slowly getting there with them.  They're taking longer than I was hoping for.  Only 37 to go.  Here's a couple of the ones I actually like:

Obey - Workshop with Catherine

This is the work we did in a workshop with Catherine where we learned about the process of creating ideas.  This has probably been the most useful of all the workshops because it has played a major role in our project.  We were given the task to create a campaign for The London Underground to produce work that promoted the message "Obey."  The idea was to make commuters pay attention to the rules to make traveling a more pleasant experience for everyone.  This is the current poster campaign:

The class was separated into 3 groups.  2 of which would be given advice by Catherine after each step.  The other would have to work on their own.  The 2 groups who received help were observed by other people who wrote down how we went about getting ideas, how we worked together and whether the way we worked was effective.  My group was one of the ones that was receiving help from Catherine which I have to say made it much easier, because I know that I tend to rush ahead of myself.  So being reined back after each step helped me prioritise what needed to be done at that point.  I wasn't always thinking of what happens next.

We had to follow the design process of:

Reverse

Exaggerate

Distort

Wishful Thinking

This allows your ideas to branch off into completely unexpected ways.  It's a great way t start thinking outside of the box.  Out of our initial brainstorm we had to pick the dominant ideas and put them through this process.  We ended up coming up with a holographic poster idea.  I came up with the idea of using the Underground symbol as part of the word Obey because this clearly communicated who the poster was for and the message at the same time.  I really liked the idea because the holographic nature of the posters would have made them more interactive for commuters.

We then had to design a web page for a client which was aimed at housewives and the message was buy less.  We went for the idea of clothes trading because it was original, an upcoming trend amongst women but mainly because it would open up a new social life for the stereotypical housewife.  I also think this spin on the message doesn't patronise the housewife which some other ideas could have, you don't want the target audience to feel stupid.  I really liked this idea.  We were given a sheet of images that we had to incorporate into the design.  We went for a tape measure because it fitted nicely with the idea of fashion.

Working with collage 2 workshops with Darren and David

 Drawing exercise with Darren.  Chose an interesting object from your bag and draw it within a time limit.  This was my first attempt.

After doing the exercise we walked around the room to look at others work.  This was quite intimidating because i don't really draw much (unfortunately) so I put extra pressure on myself and it shows in the drawing.  We were then set the same task only this time we had a rule.  We weren't allowed to look at the paper.  If we did look at the paper we had to stop and start a new drawing.  We were given the same amount of time as before.

The first attempt is quite scruffy but that's because it felt really unnatural to draw this way and I was still in the mid set that it had to be good, I didn't want people to think I wasn't very good.  As I got used to this way of drawing I began to care less about what i was producing and just focus on the object.  It's when the doubt in myself goes that the drawings begin to get better.

We then went on to produce some A6 collages using scrap newspaper.  We had to pick a theme, keep it secret and see if our collages showed what theme they could be.  The only problem with this was that most of the themes easily interlinked.  I found this task hard especially when we only had a small amount of time.  I found it hard to think of a good collage idea, find the images and words I needed to make the message I chose.

These are a couple of the collages I made.  The first is supposed to be quite comedic.  And the second is more of a social statement.  I wasn't very happy with them.  They were rushed and not exactly well thought out so when we were set the task to produce 100 A6 collages through out the term I've made it my aim to try and think them through as much as possible.

The workshop we did with David was all about the relationship between image and text.  And ways in which stories are told.  We had to reappropriate images from newspapers and magazines.  The problem with this is that images in newspapers have already been altered/cropped by the newspapers s the image your using isn't in it's original form.  This means that you have to think a lot more about how to edit it down because as far as the image is concerned all the information you need is there.  This is my favourite of the collages I made that day.  I just like how the slogan relates to the 1950's view on women.  Even though she's clearly in distress it suggests she is waiting for permission to truly show it.

Type workshop with Paul

Experimenting with how to make the font represent the word.  Visual communicating what the word is before it's read.

Playing with the components of the letter S and the £ to create patterns and shapes.  I like the use of layering the letter to create a pattern that is still recognisable as the original letter.

I actually really enjoyed this workshop.  It was nice to be able to just draw the typefaces with a pen and tracing paper.  It gave us more freedom.  It's nice sometimes to go back to basics, it's easy to get bogged down with computer.

Fiona Banner and Barney Bubbles

Fiona Banner - "Harrier and Jaguar" 2010 Duveen Gallery installations at Tate Britain.  What I really liked about these pieces was how the function of the object was forgotten when you were looking at them.  I began to admire their form.  The sheer size of them completely dominates the viewer.  Especially "Harrier" the plane being hung upside down which really has an "Epic" feeling to it.  The idea of hanging a plane upside down also adds an element of danger and excitement.  "Jaguar" has been stripped of it's army coating and has a very reflective surface that makes you admire the beauty of the objects as objects not as machines designed to kill.

The Barney Bubbles exhibition was held at Chelsea just opposite the Tate.  I have to admit out of the 2 exhibitions I found this one the most inspiring as graphics is what interests me.  It was interesting to see how he used all the old methods like screen printing etc to create work.  I loved the drawings, plans that they had as well with logo designs with his annotations still on them.  It just helped to see a process to the pieces as well as something that was resolved.  I loved how when you got close to the work you could see the intense grid system he had carefully drawn out for each piece.  I was quite shocked by just how time consuming it must have been back then and how the whole thing felt very mathematical compared to the use of computer/ digital systems in the industry today.

The A to Z of videogames-Maicon Costa

http://uk.videogames.games.yahoo.com/blog/article/18179/the-a-to-z-of-videogames.html
Pretty interesting stuff.