Indesign project: Manifesto

I've been attending indesign workshops at UWE to learn how to make a booklet. I am going to use my unresolved Manifesto as a way of learning print and binding a book.

I am going to Japanese Stab bind a booklet with these following points as my design value Manfesto.


Title:

"Art that makes me Happy
Wilson Chiu Manifesto."

1. I like art that forces you to think about something from a different perspective.
2. I think Typography and letterforms are beautiful.
3. To break the rules you must first understand how the rules work first.
4. Sometimes happy accidents happen. Use them to your advantage
5. Be curious.
6. It is important to plan out the appropriate concept of a piece.
7. Once a piece of art is created, it is open to interpretation by other people and what it means to them.
8.  If a piece of work communicates the intended message effectively, then you have done your job well.
9. I would be unwilling to make design work for an unmoral cause even if it paid well.
10. My work design have to be world changing. If it reaches out to even just one person, then I feel this is a good thing.
11. I like sharp, clean design. For this reason vectors and 2D flat design appeals to me.
12. Art should be visually engaging in order to get the audience’s attention.
13. Personal development is more important than competing with other people.
14. I like things to be orderly. 
15. I think the asterisk looks nice.
16. Sometimes simple can be effective.

Serenity Visual Shop page

Client notes

I've layed out the products in alphabetical order with linked images that go to your Facebook albums.

Serenity Visual Services page

First draft

I was explaining to the client my design choices and the different features of the website. It has been an useful experience working with someone who is less tech savy, in future this will help me to be less jargon-y when communicating with clients.

Finalised draft after amendments

Serenity branding finalised design

Homepage design

I’ve been putting a lot of hours into your website and I’ve made some progress! I’ve produced a visual of what the finished website could look like. It is much easier to edit an image than it is to edit code so it will be more efficient for me to do it like this.

Last time I spoke to Sheila she said the previous design was too busy, so I’ve come up with a new idea based around her motif of the butterfly that represents her brand identity. The “heaven” image I took from her Facebook was eye catching but I think it drew the attention away from “Serenity-Ashburton”. 

Serenity website Development

Initial Mock-up Designs 

These are my designs that didn't make it into the final product for various reasons but I thought it still be good to document to show my development of ideas and I how my ideas changed along the way. Improved finalised designs to be posted soon.

Punk inspired visuals

Trying out the "No Longer Great Britain idea" again

Quoting 1970s Sex Pistols song "Anarchy in the UK"

Revisited Punk collage

Developing Practice

Original collage v1

Revisited work v2

Research Project Sources

List of reference material used for research:

• Secret life of teens- online versus offline- Photographic displays at home
  Abigail Durrant , David Frohlich , Abigail Sellen & David Uzzell
  
• Social networking sites and our lives report
  Keith N. Hampton, Lauren Sessions Goulet, Lee Rainie, Kristen Purcell
• Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation
  Sona Livingstone
• Textual strategies the politics of art making
  Barry, J and Flitterman-Lewis, S.
• Participatory Culture- spreadable media
  Henry Jenkins
• Manufacturing Consent
  Noam Chromsky

Blurb reading summary of Henry Jenkin's series of books

Daniel Miller Anthropology and the individual: a material culture perspective

http://www.vlebooks.com/vleweb/Product/Index/269099 

• Essay explores the relationship between: indiviuals, networks and place 
• Argument between: Social media better communication and interaction through time and space versus
• Physical isolation and separation: placed based belonging- communities, societies, neighbourhoods 
• Making a profile acts as self-construction of an online identity. Personal expression (especially for teenagers, a time for them exert their own independence and autonomy from their family. 

Hippie Context

What is Hippie

Hippe: One who is aware. They believe in anti-war and try to lead a sustainable and alternative lifestyle away from capitalist society.

Hippies aimed to live under loving compassion, personal freedom and peace. They thought all mainstream lifestyle in society was too conformative and bound by the establishd power.
They rejected the social structure of society and the social values of the middle class.
Often, Hippies were environmentally friendly, vegetarian and used drugs to experience a different consciousness. Hippie Philosophy supports spiritual teachings such as the Buddha,

Places that Hippie culture influenced were UK, Europe, Canada Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Japan.

They believe in sexual freedom, they considered as sex outside marriage the use of contraception, homosexual relationships and abortion rights as being social acceptable.


Origins of Hippie

Subcultures & Materials

I am looking to marry a medium with the subculture of each decade that matches the time period that it was introduced. Some of these are a bit whooly at the moment (towards the end), but I intend to solidify these choices with some more research.

If I find there is enough variety going on in the 80s I might focus on these instead because the work would be stronger. Niverna and Kylie is a bit weak at the moment.

Current Line up

1960s: Seagant peppers (Beatles) & Felt tip pens/Spiral graph

1967

1970s: Sex Pistols & Collage

At what expense do we pay to use free social media Platforms?

This post is on the presentation I delivered at UWE last Thursday for my self directed research project as part of my MA module. It's designed to help prompt me but for anyone who might be interested the full script is below.

Introduction

I am web designer and I noticed when my clients ask me to make a website, most of them ask me to integrate social media onto their websites.  They want a social media platform to connect with their customers and to promote their brands.

I am interested in whether social media is a good or a bad thing. On one side of the argument, people say that Facebook is good for maintaining a network and social interaction. Others may argue that it is pre-dominantly geared towards selling products and used for financial marketing.

I’ve chosen Facebook as an example because they are the most powerful social network with the most amounts of users.

My question is:

At what price do we pay to use “free” social media platforms in regards to data protection and privacy. Is it ethical to encourage this practice by designing websites for clients with integrated social media links.

 Facebook advertising

Iconic covers of 1990s

The 1990s was an arena for both Pop and Alternative Rock styles to flourish, it was difficult to make a choice between the two because they are both very different from each other.

Rage against the machine 1992

Features the famous photograph of the Vietnamese Buddhist who set himself as a act of political protest. But it may problematic for my project because its not a illustration, and the use of shock graphics I believe are overused (in social campaigns like quit smoking etc)

Nirvana Nevermind 1991

Also a well recognised album cover of the 90s era.

Felt tip pen's Artist Research

After using felt tip pens for one of my Punk pieces, I tried to look for other practitioners who similarly use this medium to increase my understanding around this medium and where my work stands contextually amongst other artists.

It was quite hard to find but I've found out that Felt tip pens (as well as coloured pencils) are namely for children. It represents a a child like innocence and naivety. Also, it's a method of teaching "boundaries" at a early age, where you have to make sure you "color within the lines".

image credits: the telegraph (online)

It was difficult to find a artist who use felt tips as most google results displayed buying results for felt tips. These are two artists I found:

Chronology of iconic 1960's covers

I believe the most notable designs were for Beatles, Pink Floyd and the peice (as discussed previously) by Andy Warhole for The Velvet Underground. 

They were both known for their involvement in the Psychedelia scene of the 1960's when Hippie culture was at its height following the social phenomenon of The Summer of love 1967. The stylistic conventions of Psychedelia design is evident in their work.

1966: Beatles Revovler by Klaus Voorman 

I think there is a imaginative, sort of fuzzyness and unknowing quality about this. The use of line is  surreal and abstract, and the combined use of illustrative and added photographic elements makes it feel a bit hap-hazard. It's like a mix of real and the imagined in one place.

1968: Pink Floyd A Saucerful of Secrets Hipgosis

1960's Hippie stylistic conventions

I been looking at illustrations from the book "Classic Albulm Covers: The 60s" complied by Storm Thorgerson.

Here are my notes in spider diagram form:

Notably, I found a common theme running through some of these pieces were the symmetrical quality of them. They even reminded me of Hindu mosaics in a way. The depiction of some characters denotes grandeur or of a higher being. 

Andy Warhol Artists Research

Developing Practice

I am looking at Andy Warhol because he was a significant designer of the 1960's which is one of the music eras I am looking at.

Warhol was best known for his iconic silkscreen print of actress Mariyn Monroe (1962). This piece has become a famous in mainstream culture history and is currently held in the Tate Art Gallery in London.

Also reconised as one of the most iconic albulm cover's of 1967 was Warhol's design for The Velvet Underground + Nico. The design features a printed banana that was peel-able to reveal the pink fruit inside. The Velvet Underground was amongst many psychedelic rock bands in the 60's which was inspired by the hallucinogen LSD and Acid in the music culture scene. 

Process colours experiment

This is a drawing of the Queen found on a £5 note. The guy who ran the "Publication in a day" workshop at UWE liked the juxtaposition between a serious subject matter with felt tip pens. I thought I try to put this into practice for this to see how it would turn out

I tried using process colours (CMYK) to see what affect this would produce and how well it would work with the punk style. It is quite eye catching and the saturated color look art pop-y. (Kind of reminds me of Mariyln Monroe due to the yellow hair)  

I wonder what this would look like if I did a relief or screen printing of this. Try making a half tone of this.

I should try and make remake this several times because with achievement comes hard work, (you're not going to get the best picture the first time round, you need to keep refining it). Also perhaps look at child like drawing tools if you are interested in using felt tips with Punk subculture art.

Music subculture reading notes

Punk

Identifying examples of punk work and Situationalism and Expressionism as a Punk design device: "Use of urban landscape and its contents to subvert or antagonise established order" by using Boldness, heavy type etc

Planning to make some different punk designs using single printed colors half tone. (green, blue, red)

Funk

Did some further reading into Funk, trying understand the core ideas/character of the subculture.

I've identified the design conventions used are: Lively, bright colors, happy, groovy and magazines that I could look at are "WIRE" and "Straight no Chaser". Notable Funk icon would be James Brown. I need to start producing my own designs much quicker!

Punk Collage experiments

Developing Practice in Graphic Arts

I consider this to be the most famous Punk artwork for which I am going to re-invent. This is inspired by the "100 Jazz Posters" by Mytton William, printing company in Bath.

Sex Pistols single cover designed by Reid

My re-designs / experiments

The Queen is less relevant today that she was in the 1970's when she was a symbol of jingoism and patriarchy.

The dominant patriarchal figure these days are the government and the Prime Minster. Punk was about liberation and having a free speech by subverting the established order. (Who was Magarat Thatcher when the Punk sub-culture started) 

Seminar feedback

Developing Practice

"A good start with broad research about music, genres and culture.

I need to be more focused and specific in your research. This means making decisions and choices - e.g. don't just talk about a genre - tell us what is the defining image of that genre and why.

The idea of 100 versions of an iconic album cover is good. Responding to a piece of work is a tried and tested methodology that many other creatives use, so it can work for you too. (Think of Jasper Johns flag paintings)."

I should select an iconic album cover from each decade and then start remaking them exploring materials, processes, slowly include contemporary references and re-make them for today.

Research sources

Different periods, processes and technology:

• Punk_collage, Photo montage 
• New typefaces
• New printing techniques: process colours, half screens

Popular culture > Grunge music > Posters > music imagery > self publishing

• Jazz posters by Mytton Wiliams (printing company in Bath) 100 prints a day
• Mary wager: college artist, surrealism
• Beatles development from roots to Acid/Hippie Psychedelic music
• Crass: unknown Punk band, how are they marketed?
• David Carson: Revolver, Raggn magazine

Pick an iconic cover for each decade x-x (some movements overlap each other)

• Respond by making x-amount of covers of it
• How does the type change over the years
• Symbolic messages, e.g. the queen might not be relevant anymore. (patriarchal figure) New references? Telling stories about our time (socially/politically)

Music subcultures in magazines

Developing Practice

Here are my notes from reading "Design after Dark, the story of danceflor style" by Cynthia Rose.

Punk and Bolshevik Classicism 

left: ID magazine of street fashion,
right: example of Bolshevik design conventions

Bolshevism

Soviet style Symbols: hammer and sickle badges, Dr.Zhivago hats, Heroes of the people- Marx, Lennin, Russian inspired: figures such as Gagarin, Vladimir Mayakovsky.


Social and Political values: 

To show liberation, angst against social disarray of 1970's under Margaret Thatcher.

Going back full circle

Developing Practice

When I went to Fopp, I spoke to one of the staff about vinyl music as I noticed there is a big selection of them now in store.

"Vinyl is more popular than it ever has been before back in the old days."

I'm not sure it's been at a record high but it definitely has picked up momentum and more and more people are buying and collecting them again. It is trendy again.

Other the ages, music has gotten smaller and smaller. The Vinyl's were massive, and gradually under the test of time, smaller forms have music has taken its place. There's been an emphasis on: 

portable, accessible, on the go, fast paced lifestyles, less and less physical.

Have we gone so far from the physicality of music that we have no gone full circle?
 Are people appreciating having ownership of a big item that they can feel and touch?

Primary Research Collage

Developing Practice

I went into my local music shop to look at album covers first hand. I took photographs from a sample of each category.

My aim was to investigate whether there was a consistent stylistic conventions across albums under the same genre.

Dance

Geometry, abstraction, colorful, pattern, vivid, alive

Country

Earthy colors, brown paper, nature's roots, simplicity, line

Urban

cityscape, street feel, graffiti, gold, 

Funk

Lively, bright colors, happy, groovy

Metal

Dark, ominence, powerful, visual representations of death, angsty, male audience

Music culture Proposal

Q. To explore music culture from a period or a particular genre, to see how that has influenced contemporary illustration. 

Illustration inspired artwork:

• Typography
• Print and screen based processes
• Pattern and illustration as album cover work. 

Examples of branding project that I really enjoyed was: Sonic Machines

Proposed Project Question

Developing Practice

Contemporary Illustration

This is defined as: 

"implies modern, current, up to date, fashionable and present day, so peering too far back into a dim and distant past may draw into the frame images that today's audience would struggle to recognise or remember" - Lawraence Zeegan Crush

Contemporary illustration reflects the "voice of people" as described as Steven Heler, it tells us about social and cultural history. Many of these images are shown through the medium of cultural magazines.

Therefore studying the context of when such iconic works was produced is relevant because it affected what it had to say and how it was received by the general public. 

Iconic works