Edible Type

We were given a festive brief at christmas which was to create a piece of edible type by ourselves or in a group. As I am usually more comfortable at working on my own I decided to push myself to do more teamwork so I put myself in a team with friends Connell and Hannah. I am not a big fan of typography therefore I thought I would not enjoy this task as much, however I found it enjoyable.

 My idea was to create the comic sans font that all designers hate and make it out of fun fluff rice crispy treats! The recipe was easy, we melted butter in a pan and then added the marshmallow fluff and heated it up. We then stirred in rice crispies and sprinkles. The hardest part was to mould the treats into the letters because it was really sticky!

 Doing this brief allowed me to see a different side to typography and made me really enjoy looking into fonts and type. It has inspired me to look at different methods when looking at design and how you can experiement with methods other than something more traditional. 

Stop Bombing Syria Protest

I went to a protest in Leeds that was against bombing Syria as I feel strongly about this political message. I wanted to look at the public made campaign posters and use of Graphic Design. Going to this event inspired me to look into political driven design and how you can put your point across in a strong way. It was great to see that people came to stand up for the innocent civilians that will die due to our governments decision to bomb Syria.  

Why am I here ? What do I want to learn ?

5 reasons I choose to study on this course.

• I like to create. I have always been a creative person who likes to make things that will change a persons emotions, Graphic Design is the perfect course for communicating ideas.
• At Alevel I took the course not really knowing a lot about what it was I just knew it looked interesting and could be fun. Not long into the course I realised it was perfect for me and I knew it was what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life.
• When looking for where to take this course I came across LCA and knew it was where I wanted to be. Being in an art college seemed the best option because I would be surrounded by many creative and artistic pupils and I would be in the perfect environment with many passionate people.
• I also saw that LCA had great facilities and studio space that I could take advantage from to help me be the best I could be.
• I also knew I wanted to be more independent and have new experiences so moving away was the best option and Leeds seemed like a perfect place because it is a big city with a lot of creative things going on as well as it is not to expensive for rent.

5 Things that I want to learn during my time on the course.

• I would love to explore a range of techniques and traditional methords that I never would have thought of trying before to enhance my work.
• I would like to be able to use software such as Adobe Illustrator to a professional standard.
• I would like to gain knowledge on the history of graphic design and gain knowledge on some influential graphic designers.
• I want to learn more about graphic design studios and companies and how they work and get a better understanding on where I want to go after the course.
• Learn more about book making and design and gain knowledge in my favourite areas of design.

5 Things that I think are my strengths.

• Photoshop has always been one of my strengths after using it for Alevel graphic design. I would always watch tutorials and ask questions about how to use it which led to me having a better knowledge.
• I am good at coming up with unique ideas for tasks and creating mind maps of research and ideas which helps me have a good head start in projects.
• Organisation has always been strong for me as I always like to have my work done on time and I always want to show work that I am 100% happy with and passionate about. This shows I am serious about my work and always work to the best of my ability.
• Research is also one of my strengths because I like to be properly informed when working on something so that I have the facts right and so I know my ideas will work well.
• Brand Identity is something that I enjoy to do as I do not just like to create a logo but have a meaning behind what I do. This was resonantly shown in my T.K.Maxx rebrand.

5 Things that I would like to improve.

• I would like to improve my presentation skills as I have the ideas and explanations, however I sometimes find it hard to verbally communicate this unless I have a script to go by or know exactly what I am going to say. This is because I am sometimes am scared I will mess up my words in front of people or I won't communicate my ideas to there potential. Over the last couple of weeks I have been gaining confidence but it is something I still need to work on.
• I also need to learn not to take critiques personally as I sometimes find it hard to stay positive when somebody does not like an idea that I like the most and have tried hard on. I need to remember that feedback is always good and helps you along the way to creating something that will be better.
• I also find it hard to critique other peoples work because I know how it makes me feel and I don't want to hurt their feelings however I know that constructive criticism will help other peoples development.
• Again I would like to improve my digital skills when it comes to Adobe Illustartor and premier pro as it will help me improve my work and learn new skills.
• Typography is something that i could improve on as I sometimes use fonts that are to decretive rather that simplistic. Also when making my type face I need to think of it as a font and not lettering.

5 things that inspire me.

I have resonantly wrote a blog post on 10 things that inspires me so I will narrow it down.

• Photography especially old photography because I like the idea that one photograph can be seen in many ways and have many stories behind it depending on the person who views it. Also a photograph can capture many emotions and important life events like freezing time it can be seen over and over again.
• Bookshops and Books inspire me because a book shop has a warm atmosphere and is full of people who admire a book. Also I love to read books because you can gain knowledge and enjoyment as well as it can encourage you to change your life or have a big impact on your life.
• Social Media inspires me because you can see other peoples day to day lives and exspierences and it can encourage you to do more things in your life that you never would have thought to have done before. Also you can record your life and look back on it in the future and look at all you have achieved.
• Movies, especially horror because I look at the design choices and I like how a movie can effect peoples emotions so dramatically from making them cry, scream or laugh.
• Being around creative people inspire me as you can learn from them and be in a creative atmosphere that helps you to develop and gain skills. I was inspired when I visited 72andSunny (Advertising Agency) in amsterdam just before I came to uni as I met many creative people and learned new things.

5 examples of design that demonstrate my fields of creative interest.

• Book Design

• Political and social satire 

• WW2 Graphic Design

• Movie Poster Design

• Advertising

Presenting My Future

Today we were encouraged to look at where we want to be in 10 years time. When I was talking to people in my class I wrote down some of the main things I want to achieve.

Live In America

I want to live in America in a place were there is lots of creative work such as New York or LA. 

Live In a House 

In 10 years time I want to be able to afford a small house near where I work and in a nice area.

Work for BuzzFeed

I would like to work for BuzzFeed doing a creative job such as creating videos, writing articles or creating quizzes. I have always enjoyed BuzzFeed videos and website and would like to work in any of the offices.

Write and Publish a book

My proudest achievement would be to write and publish my own book on creative matters. I am very interested in books and would love to create my own.

Travel

In 10 years I would like to have travelled to many places gaining knowledge and new experiences. I would like to travel America and Europe.

To Do Lists

Last week we had a lecture about planning and the importance of having a plan in life. We talked about a list of what we would like to do in our life my list included things such as;

• Travel America
• Move to London
• Write and design my own book

This week I have been writing a to do list everyday to see if I can stick to it and weather it helps organise my time better and make me more productive.

I found that making lists aren't really my thing most of the time I like to put post it notes above my desks so I keep seeing it and don't forget because if i write a list at the start of the day I forget about it. However writing some of the things down encouraged me to get it done. On sunday I read some articles on typography on of which was about how to make your own fonts.

(http://justcreative.com/2010/11/23/how-to-make-your-own-fonts/) 

This helped because the current project I'm working on I am making my own font. If I had not have wrote this down and kept looking at it I would not have got it done. 

We also looked at the website Product Hut and that suggested some sites that are good for planning which I may used in the future but for now I am going to stick to my post-it notes.

British Art Show 8 Visit

Today I went to the British Art Show 8 Exhibition at the Leeds Art Gallery. I looked at some interesting pieces of work. I enjoyed looking at the fine art paintings and abstract structures. My favourite was Caroline Achaintre and her works using shaggy wool. One of her pieces I found particularly interesting was Mother George which looks like a tribal mask. I like the use of colour and the look of the texture on the eyes. 

Mother George

What's Going On ?

Last week we looked at what events are going on in November which we could visit or could be interested in looking into. Here are some of the things I think look interesting.

British Art Show 8
9th October - 10th January
Leeds art gallery
True North Photographic Exhibition
8th October- 7th December
White cloth Gallery
Lumiere
12th- 15th November
Durham
Light Switch On
12th November 6:45
Leeds
The World Of Charles and Ray Eames 
Now- 14th February
Barbican Art Gallery London

Good Websites to look for events are,
http://leeds-list.com
http://www.leedsinspired.co.uk
http://www.eyemagazine.com

Work Experience with 72andSunny Amsterdam

At the start on September I got the amazing opportunity to go to Amsterdam and do some work experience at a advertising agency called 72andSunny. I got this opportunity by speaking to people I know and finding out their connections. I was very excited to be able to see designers in their work place but I was also very nervous because I would have to get a plane alone and go to a foreign country. I stayed with a lovely women called Wendy and she was a designer at the agency. I was introduced to many different designers with different jobs and I asked a lot of questions to do with what there jobs entailed and what projects they had worked on. But most interestingly how they came to live in Amsterdam and work for the company. I liked the fact that everybody was from different places around the world and they all had different experiences and educations. I also got to sit in on live briefs and projects and give some of my opinions which were sometimes useful. I also learned techniques by watching them work which has helped me since in my own projects. I also got to have a one on one meeting with designer Richard Harrington who has worked with many well known companies he gave me some advice and talked me through some of his previous projects such as The Oscars ceremony. It was amazing to get to talk to all of these designers in a professional level in the office but to also get to know them more personally like going out for lunch.

My setup in the office

72andSunny Logo

Richard Harrington Work

I also got to visit some places in Amsterdam in my free time. I was very excited to go into the Anne Frank House as it was a book I read a long time ago that I was always fascinated with. I also went to

The Stedelijk Museum of contemporary art and modern design. It was fascinating to see all of the different designs. One of my favourites was 7 Chairs in 7 Days by the designer Ineke Hans. I liked the concept behind each chair being named after a day and that she asked people which chairs were which days and thats how she named them. I also really liked the zero exhibition based on the second world war and the post-war reconstruction.

Anne Frank Huis 

Sunflower Maze Near Van Gogh Museum

7 Chairs in 7 Days Ineke Hans

Zero Exhibition

Zero Exhibition

Zero Exhibition

To have this type of connection to designers is helpful and I suggest to all graphic students that you should make the effort to gain new experiences. I have learnt that if you just ask the worst people can say is no and people are a lot more willing to say yes than you would expect. Now that I have had some work experience with 72andSunny I can go back again and make connections in the business that can help me in my designing future. Overall my work experience in Amsterdam has given me a new look into graphic design and inspired me to look at different artists and styles for my work. Thank you 72andSunny and Wendy for an Amazing experience.

10 Things That Inspire Me

This week we were encouraged to think about what inspires us and talk to each other and share our inspirations. I found that many people are inspired by completely different things and I had to really think to come up with 10 that I think inspire me the most. (In no particular order)

Old Photography
Something that I always enjoy looking at is old photography. A person who made me look more into this was an author called Ransom Riggs. He wrote the 'Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children' series of books. In these books he included his hobby of finding old photographs at car boot sales and including them in his stories. He also has a book called 'Taking Photographs' in which he talks about finding old photographs that people don't care about anymore and reading the back to find out were they have come from. I find this very interesting and included him as an artist in one of my Alevel projects. I also collect some old photographs and I like to look at the history of where they are set and what society was like at the time. I buy photographs online for as little as 50p. One of my favourite photographs that I purchased came and without knowing it was used as a postcard and on the back was a letter sent from nearly 100 years ago. I like how an image can tell a thousand stories depending on who looks at them.

Bookshops

I can spend hours in bookshops just looking at covers and flicking through the pages. I really enjoy looking at the design of the spine and cover of a book and the layout of some pages inside. My favourite bookshop is Foyles in London because I like the atmosphere and the amount of books that are their. I like some Graphic novels, and graphic design books. I also like that some bookshops hold signings and you can meet your favourite authors. Also bookshops seem to be friendly and you can ask questions to the staff and ask people for recommendations. 

 Ted Talks
During my Alevels I started to watch Ted Talks for my media course, The first Ted talk I really enjoyed and became interested in was called 'Connected but alone' by Sherry Turkle. Since then I like to watch Ted Talks no and again however I am going to begin to watch more to do with design instead of media, I am interested in watch talks by Stefan Sagmeister, Marian Bantjes and Jonathan Harris.

Keri Smith

I have always had a love for the style of Keri Smiths books. I love how you can contribute to the book but also how when you do the things suggested in her books you are unconsciously making art and can make something beyond what you ever thought you could do. The first Keri Smith book I became interested in was Wreck This Journal, I liked how it encouraged creativity in ways I never would have tried before. Guerrilla Art Kit was also interesting as it talked about sharing your visions with the world as well as doing art for fun or for a political reason.

Calm

Calm 'Calm the mind, change the world' is by Michael Acton Smith and is a resent purchase of mine. I picked it up because when I flicked through it I loved the layouts, typography and use of images. When I am doing any work on Typography I look through this book for ideas and inspiration. My copy currently has post-it notes on my favourite pages. I also like to read the book as the content sometimes helps me relax and look at alternative views. Calm also has a website and app that I like the design.

Youtube
I watch Youtube everyday. It is full of content for all interests, I enjoy watching blogs, listening to music, watching DIY, episodes of web series and more. Youtube is good to look at other peoples art and DIY tutorials. I learn a lot from people sharing videos and I get inspiration and entertainment on what people post. People are now even becoming Youtube famous from only posting videos of there hobbies and lives. I think Youtube is the future !

Pinterest

I enjoy looking at art and peoples projects and ideas on pinterest because you can pin them on your boards and share peoples ideas. I like to look at DIY ideas, Art, Fashion, Home deco. I also like how you can follow certain people or boards and then have a large newsfeed of things that you like and inspire you without having to do much looking. My favourite things to look at is quotes, because I look at the typography and layout which helps me with ideas for my work.

Snapchat

I check snapchat everyday to see what my friends are doing but to also be inspired. You can follow celebrities, artists, anyone. Seeing what people are doing around the world can motivate you to do more that day or in life. Some of my favourite snapchats are dabttll and jeromejarre.

Movies

When I was doing my Unit 2 and 3 of my Alevel graphics is was really inspired by Horror movies. I looked into the change in movie posters over time and horror book covers. I like to look at the media aspects as well as the design choices. I like horror movies because they can make people feel such a strong emotion if they are perfectly directed and have the right actors, lighting music etc. I am also a big fan of documentaries and Crime series.

Being Around Creative People

Since moving to Leeds I am surrounded by creative people. At home I only had 10 scheduled hours of media and graphics a week in which a class of people with creative interests were together. Now in Leeds I am always surrounded by these people. I live with 2 fine artists and another graphic designer and I go to a college full of people who want to major in the arts. Being surrounded by all of this creativity inspires me to continue with my work and getting advice and ideas from people around me helps me increase my artistic skills and creativity.