Initial ideas and Development

On this page I talked about the artist who inspired me and the  style that I will be working in. I the poster that I will  be  creating and give a rough image of what one of the components of that poster will look like.

On this page I continue talking about the components that I will add to my poster. This included a possible back ground, the type style that I will use and the logo that I will create to go on all of my final outcomes. 

On this final page I show basic plans for t-shirt designs and ticket layouts and what will be included in them. 

Instillations

This is an analysis of an art instillation done using office equipment that can be purchased from staples. I was done as a marketing exercise to advertise their products. I believe the message that they where trying to convey to the audience was that their products are useful and have many uses.

Sydney Harbor by staples 

I viewed the video of the making of this instillation couple off times. The first was just to see what it was about and what happened in the video and then I re-watched the video to record the materials that they used and the techniques that they deployed in order to create it. The purpose of this piece  as I said before was to advertise staple is Australia. The artists have used products that the company sells to create a piece that the people of that country can relate to as well as show what they have on offer. The choice of city that they chose was good because not only does it have grand architectural structures but its also the commercial capital of Australia, the relevance being that they are a commercial business. One technique that they have used to increase the impact that the piece has on the audience is, that they have compacted the buildings together to give a felling of an immense city towering above everything  and as if it is all one body. The bright colours add to this by giving life to it, making it seem as though teeming with energy.

Olympic Advertising instillation.

Unfortunately this instillation was not completed because at the time I was the  only one working  on it. The initial idea that I had for this instillation was to have crowds of people around a running track at the top on the back board and then in the for ground a podium with people standing on it. To the left hand side I would have had the big Olympic torch that you can see. For the parts you can see I used relatively simple techniques. The people were the easiest as all I had to do was to fold paper, cut out a person and then unfold it. For the torch I rolled a piece of A2 coloured sugar paper into a cone and then I stuffed coloured tissue paper into the top and ripped bits of to make  flames, as if the torch was lit.

The advantages of using paper are, that it is cheap and easy to cut and make into the shape that you desire but, on the down side it is a very lengthy process and of course if you cut the wrong shape you have to get another piece of paper and do it again.

Paper Instillation artists Zim and Zou Analysis.

Zim and Zou are a french graphic design studio who who specialise in paper craft and creating pieces of artwork using paper. One of their recent projects is called "back to basics" and focuses on recreating vintage technologies using bright retro 80s colours. Their other projects include the "low gravity" project which is an advert for Windoo, a couch surfing and networking site which allows people to share information on hospitality services.



Back to basics

The picture to the left displays a range of outcomes that  they produced for their project. As yo can see it is all technology from the 70's and 80's era. Walk men, Polaroid cameras, floppy discs and early games consoles/games.

My first reaction to the piece was shocked when I found out that the items were made out of cut card which was shaped and put together and what was even more shocking was how each of them are very accurate in their sizes. The part that draws my attention is the selection of bright colours. The artists have used bright coloured card and layered it so that the items look more 3D and life like.

The sensory effect that this piece has on me is quite different to the one that may be expected and is contextually affected by modern culture. This is because in recent years, vintage art as been re-born and re-used in our every day lives. Vintage clothing and fashion is being purchased by the younger population, images and retro styles like the strait edges are and bright colours are being used in music videos and adverts and being merged with current styles to form new designs. This is evidently present in this modern era and this work can be related to an earlier part of the blog when I analysed some t-shirts that were made by a company called the joystick junkies. Even though they are a relatively new company, there is evidence that their brand was inspired by retro gaming; e.g use of the word joystick with the green console command type blocks as well as the colours on the deadmau5 t-shirt which are similar to the ones that are used on these items. A technique that they have used,, which is very common when presenting new technological products as well as fashion, is the use of a clean background with lighting shone onto it making it apear as if they have re invented the products. This being the case, when I see this I think of modern pop and electronic music. The 70s and 80s were at the beginning of  modern technology and was greatly influential on modern fashion; due the to the fact that since then we have made significant progress I think that modern artists and designers like Zim and Zou have decided to use this contrast of old and new because it gives this genre of digital pop culture a modern-urban twist.

This is one of the items that Zim and Zou have re created. It is a walk man which is what people used before modern day mp3's. The user would put a cassette tape into the player and then would play the music that was on it. One feature that draws my attention is how the artists have re created the actual magnetic tape that holds the music information. It appears that they have got a long strip of paper and winded it around another bit to form the reels. Another amazing feature is that you can open up the player and put the tape into it so it has moving parts.

Low Gravity

The low gravity project was an advertising campaign for a company called Windoo. I believe that the idea for the name low gravity comes form the action that the user of the sight would take which is surfing the web. The idea of floating around the internet and then homing in on the selected sight. This is relevant to the audience that the sight is intended for. The sites was made for back packers as a social networking site where they could rate the hostels or boarding facilities that they used and then share the information with other back packers so they can find a place stay and then see whether others recommend it, or suggest that they avoid it. As back packers also travel around looking for new things, surfing the  the globe, the designers intentions for the instillation are clear.

The logo is retro keeping with the theme of some of their newer  projects . It  uses isometric  patterns and pastel like colours which are very calm and gentle. This would make the audience and potential site users think that the site is friendly/user friendly and is there for the purpose of helping them. The colours are inviting and the design is likely to appeal to the younger population which are most likely to be back packers and using this site.

Again this instillation is representative of back packers for the obvious  reason that they give the  viewer the feeling that they are orientating the globe and the internet/ their site holds a  world of information. The paper planes represent playfulness and fun but also the idea of travel and taking planes to your destination. The use of the colour blue as the background makes the audience think of adventure into the unknown like the deep blue sea or soaring new heights into the sky.   

Experimentation with rubbings and Lino printing.

These are some experimentation I have done using rubbing techniques and Lino printing.

The rubbing on the left was done using green oil pastel, i found at because the colour was light that when the pastel went over the edges of the template that I used it left segments of dark green making the image appear better. the one on the right was done using a 6H pencil. This was the best rubbing that I did because it is the clearest of all the rubbings.

On the left I tried using red oil pastel to see if the image would be as clear as when I used green, but the image is extremely hard to see. on the right is the template that i used to do the rubbings.

Here I have done some Lino prints. This was the first time that I have ever  done Lino printing and I found it quite challenging to cut out the image and to find an effective technique when digging it out. I chose to do a silhouette style image by digging out the image so that it would stay white when printed. To give the image a bit of depth I only cut out the outline of the arm and leg in the background so that when the image printed it would have colour on the inside and make them appear further away. If I was ever to do this agin in the future I would improve it by using a lighter piece of Lino so that I could see the image that I drew onto it better or use a white pencil to mark the picture onto the Lino.  I would take more caution when digging out the image and experiment with mixture of colours. I could also try overlapping the images to make them appear to be in a kind of 3D order, as if going into the page. I would also try adding more detail to the initial  design.

The characteristics of Lino and printing.

Smooth, durable, bendy, tough, flat, hard, thin, reinforced, you can cut it, carve it and make 2D prints with it.

Advantages of Lino Printing.

• Carve it
• Print it
• Emboss
• Rubbings
• Reduction printing
• Tough/ Sturdy
• Print onto different surfaces
• Easy to cut

Disadvantages of Lino Printing.

• mistakes are irreversible
• not 3D
• you have to work hard to get texture
• hard to cut
• limited colour
• application rollers
• hard to clean, hard to get of hands
• barrier cream for hands
• white spirit- fumes (health and safety issues)
• long time to dry
• time consuming

Athlete Sketches

Here I have sketched some athletes competing in their events to aid with creating my final outcome. By sketching a range of athletes from different professions I will open my eyes to new ways that I can compose them.

The image above on the left is of a russian gymnast twirling a baton with ribbon on the end. For this I decided to just draw the outline of the image because I liked the way that she contorted her body and was very poised and elegant in her movements. So by drawing the outline I would be able to see this better. The pose that the athlete makes in the images that I will use is important because an exaggerated one will add more depth to the picture and make it seem more extreme and intense. On the right is Rafael Nadal, a Spanish tennis player who I drew in the middle of a celebration. As you can see the facial expressions show the excitement that the athlete is feeling about winning. Facial expressions are important to human communication because slight changes can represent a completely different emotion as well as change the moods of other people.

Russian Gymnast.

Rafael Nadal.

The picture at the top is of a swimmer competing at the olympics and appears to be doing breast stroke. in this picture the difficult part was trying to draw the water. so what I did was shade the area that the water had taken up and then used a rubber to erase the shape of the ripples and then smudged the area with my fingers to give ares of light and dark. The second picture is of Ussain bolt. This was drawn from a picture of him when he crossed the 100m finnish line. For this picture I concentrated on the muscles using areas of light and dark to make them look 3D. I also used a rubber at the top so it appeared that light was shining on it.

Swimmer doing breast stroke.

Usain Bolt.

Initial work and developments

These are some of the initial activities that I under took in order to give my self a broad range of ideas and to develop and get me started.

Firsts of all I got some images of previous Olympic logos (site). I got theses logos so that I could get ideas from existing logos and help with the developments of my own logo. they are from the Tokyo, Roman, Athens, Beijing and the Sydney Olympic games.

Above are some pictures of athletes competing (Javelin, Basketball, Swimming,  Bmx, Usain Bolt) .
One of the outcomes that I will create will be a poster and this will feature a picture in the middle of competing in their sport.

These are some initial developments of logos that I have done using the pictures of athletes competing as inspiration. I have explored a few techniques and designs that i should consider when creating my final logo.

The first is for the Javelin event. The design was modeled on one of the icons that are used to represent the events. I drew the image and then I wrote the name of the event next to it with the Olympic logo underneath. I like this because it is simple and doesn't distract from the purpose however it is quite plain. 

The second is for the basketball event. For this I drew a simplified image of the picture I found above. I used the Olympic colours and then drew rings around the hoop making it look like the official logo. However I think that this is a bit complicated and over the top. It should be more simple.  

For the swimming event logo I have drawn the image of the swimmer in the pictures that I gathered. For this I decided to change the image so that the swimmer looks like the union flag with a human form.  I thought that this would be a good idea as the 2012 Olympics are being held in London which is in the U.K.  In creating this logo I have noticed that using fewer colours and keeping it simple make the image bolder and easier to remember.

Next I tried to develop a logo which could invoke the touch senescence. To do this I raised certain parts of the logo by using black paper and sticking it over prominent features like the tires and the helmet. This also adds depth to the image. As the subject is in mid air, the black as well as the raised surface make it almost appear to pop out. I also used a simple graffiti type text to write the  name of the of the event to give an urban feel.

The last image is for the 100 meter sprint. The colours of the Olympic logo flare out behind the runner to represent speed and they are joined to the logo as if the spirit of the Olympics is infused into the competitor. I used the name off the event and the location that it will be held to form the finish line of the event. Of all of the logos this is my favorite because it it embodies the essence of the what it is to be an Olympic competitor.

This sketch was a still life
done of  a sports equipment arrangement.

This is a picture of the  sporting equipment that I drew.

This is a sketch of a cricket helmet.

This is the helmet that I drew.

For this picture I did one sketched and one continuous line drawing of cycling shoes.

This is a picture of the bike shoes that i drew except the composition is different.