Basquiat Boom for Real

Went to the Barbican Centre to visit the new Basquiat Boom for Real exhibition. 

As an artist, Basquiat's work has rarely been displayed to a large public audience, especially in the UK, so seeing his work in the flesh was a real privilege and definitely put him on my radar of artists to reference in the future.  

Inspirations to take away from visiting his exhibition:

His way of working

- Basquiat surrounded himself with source material in his studio which was from everywhere and anywhere, from books to cigarette butts. 

- He worked collaboratively and fluidly across media. 

- Much like the approach by Gursky with digital photo processing techniques, Basquiat used new technology such as the Xerox at that time to elevate and enhance his work

His work was a reflection of the environment he was in

- Basquiat's recognisable gritty style was a reflection of the dire state New York was in after the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. 

- Could this be a technique used in the future to represent my work? To incorporate Western techniques with my upbringing in an Asian country?

Being surrounded by other New Wave creatives in New York

- Having being surrounded by hihgly influential figures during the emerging New Wave scene in New York allowed his work to be constantly reevaluated and reimagined

Being a multidisciplinary artist

- The multiples areas within graphic design has the potential for me to venture into new disciplines and to incorporate techniques learnt from others

*I was unable to take photos in the exhibition hence the lack of primary research

Andreas Gursky

Went to Andreas Gursky's exhibition at the Southbank Centre. 

What makes his photographs particularly alluring is how his compositions are often uniform in focus, creating an 'all over' composition. This creates an image without a central focus, forcing the viewers eye to dart across the photo. 

This technique in photography, that of which has made a name for Gursky, can be taken into my design approach, especially within poster design.

More often than not, there is a clear attempt to establish a central figure in the compositions. To adopt Gursky's style of photography into poster design would mean a more complex and less direct means of communication. 

Gursky's approach to digital techniques is also one that can be taken into my design practice. He makes use of the possibilities offered by digital processing to emphasise formal elements to enhance the picture or to combine different images or details to make a single work. Yet despite these advances, Gursky has not 'lost sight of analogue photography.'

This can be taken into my practice by using digital technology to enhance and emphasise the printed medium, rather than to limit it to digital design. 

Type Specimen

Type 38 is a modular design that is designed around a 3 by 8 grid. The restrictive grid system forced me to be creative with designing in such a tight form. It made me understand better the intricacies of letterforms, readability and recognisability. Working in the grid however has created the typeface's unique identity.

This is was a personal project that aimed to better communicate my interests and personality as a designer, out of frustration from the lack of internship offers during summer. 

The specimen follows a 3 by 8 design, same as the typeface, with a 3 by 8 grid structure for the content layout. The original grid size is displayed on the front. A neutral grey cover compliments the off white stock inside. 

The subsequent pages are meant to best showcase the typeface to the reader. On the right are zoomed in views of the letterforms to show detail and shape. 

This page helps to illustrate to the reader the various sizes of the typeface. 

Tony Brook

Sascha Lobe

Mirko Borsche

Patrick Thomas

What makes the specimen unique is that each middle page is bespoke to the recipient. Each design is meant to reflect their style of work and content in order for them to better understand how the typeface will work in context.

The last few pages are decorative and are meant to showcase the typeface. The last page features several of the original grids to allow the reader the possibility of drawing their own letterforms.  

The specimen comes in a custom envelope, demonstrating a level of effort to get a response from these designers. 

The letter double as a decorative piece of design that the recipient can use as a artefact to remember me by.

A response letter was also included to persuade a response from them. 

You've Got Mail

Studios & Designers Identified

Chris Ashworth, Creator Director of then RAYGUN Magazine
- 90s post-modernist approach to typography and editorial design

Mirko Borsche, Founder of Bureau Mirko Borsche 
- Experimental typography, editorial and branding
- Previously contacted before

Idea Magazine, one of the first magazines in Japan that focuses on graphic design and typography
- Will be useful for CoP dissertation

Sascha Lobe, Creative Director of L2M3
- Typography, Exhibition branding, signage systems

Hagihara Takuya, graphic designer in Tokyo
- Colour theory, unique graphic compositions, useful for dissertation

MadebyAnonymous, multidisciplinary studio in Singapore
- Exhibition branding, typography 

Studio Laucke Sieben
- Experimental typography, Identities, Editorial design

Patrick Thomas
- 'Graphic art', traditional print technique, typography

ZakGroup Office
- Art Direction, Exhibition design, Identities, Editorial

OK-RM
- Identities, Art Direction, Editorial

8vo

MuirMcNeil

Hamish Muir, Co-Founder of then 8vo and now part of MuirMcNeil
- Experimental typography, technical design, process driven 
- Previously interviewed

Tony Brook, Spin Studio
- Identity, Exhibition design, editorial, typography
- Practicing 'modernist' design today

These studios and designers were chosen based on personal interest within graphic design.

For this task, it would be appropriate to create a type specimen for a personal typeface designed during summer. The specimen will communicate my interest in typography, editorial design and my interest in the 'style' of graphic design I want to create. 

Evaluation

PPP in Level 05 was a more fruitful experience for me compared to Level 04. I was more engaged with the creative industry and definitely more concerned with the development of my own practice through the various readings on designers and orientations in design. This need to learn about the history of design and its past orientations was inspired by an article in eye magazine titled 8vo: type and structure. Specifically this passage,

http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/8vo-type-and-structure

By understanding how to design effectively and how to use typography, I can better communicate my ideas and become a better designer.

Conducting an interview with Hamish Muir was very unexpected considering his prominence within the industry and reputation, all through mailing the interview to his wrong office. It was interesting to know of his thoughts on design given that he studied under Wolfgang Weingart and worked with Wim Crouwel. The posters design as its creative report demonstrates my learnings of design over the year. To me it represented an opportunity to convey my knowledge on design and go out of my comfort zone as it was for someone who is known for their consideration to formal aspects. When placed alongside my work created during the year, it is a stark difference that marks a shift in my attitudes towards design. I've become more concerned with expressing concepts solely through typography and layout of content.

One of the highlights this year was going to OFFSET in Sheffield, which was my first proper design conference. Seeing all these professional designers, illustrators, photographers, etc in one place was beneficial in better understanding the nature of the creative industry. It was only in hindsight how important figure Ben Bos was in graphic design after reading up on modernism.

Moving onto Level 6, basing the dissertation around what I've read and continuing my own personal readings will help continue my understanding on how to design. With the briefs being so open next year, I must be capable in bending briefs to allow me to create the design that best exercises what I've learned and more importantly to be conscious of building a professional portfolio.

By this point, I've identified studios that I would like to work for. That being Bureau Mirko Borsche, Studio Laucke Siebein and madebyanonymous. Mirko Borsche and Laucke Siebein aligns with my interest in typographic solutions and unconventional design. The work they create is engaging and contemporary, often working with clients within the creative industry that allow this form of design to be taken to its full potential. madebyanonymous are a Singaporean design studio that also base their solutions through typography. But unlike the previous two studios, the art direction is more restrained, taking a pragmatic approach to layout rather than unconventional. It is also worth mentioning Thesues Chan's studio WORKWERK which was the first to expose me to more expressive designs. However unlike madebyanonoymous, his projects are focused around the production process rather than its content. This can be seen in WERK No. 20 GINZA THE EXTREMITIES OF THE PRINTED MATTER and his most recent WERK No.24: ROSE WYLIE and FRASER TAYLOR "COLLISIONS".

Overall Level 05 was a pivotal year on the course that saw the change in my approach and understanding of graphic design.

Issuu submission

For the issuu publication submission, the interview has been turned into a simple and straightforward A4 page format, that retains some design elements of the full scale poster.

Re adjustments

The unsatisfactory screen printing quality has forced an adjustment to the overall design. Not only that but having the opportunity to send this off to Muir himself requires a better presentation.

The removal of the red on "typo" creates a more even visual hierarchy for the posters design. This allows for the entire quote to be better communicated. The red is now used on the cover's text that is a subtle addition of colour. The thinner line above "space" visually lightens the bottom of the poster focusing the attention towards the centre. Finer adjustments were also made such as the stroke of each line. For example, the line above "space" is 4mm whilst the outline of "of the z-axis" and "to extend" is now 1.6mm and 0.8mm respectively. This ensures a thoroughly considered design that is related to the overall theme of 8. The exposed grid is now laid in between the black graphic and text to communicate a layered composition of content, creating the z-axis.

Previous halftone

Adjusted hafltone

Detail

The size of the dots of the halftone in the previous design allowed too much negative space which loosened the shape of the letterforms, lowering legibility. The halftone is now made up of two images with a high density overlaid on the original, creating a unique halftone pattern. The letterforms are now more easily distinguished.

The removal of a screen print on the back produces a consistent print quality that doesn't compromise the overall design.

Poster design

the grey representing the colour of the tracing paper

Having the interview be spread across the poster is now reduced to one A4 spread that is seen as one compact design element on the poster as opposed to disorganised segments. The smaller use of type also contrasts against the large amount of block colours on the poster. The scanned in cut outs were largely altered to suit the flow of content on the poster. The original scans created layouts that were visually busy and forceful. Having just one large graphic allows more the tracing papers characteristic to be more explicit in communicating the basis of the posters concept.It was formed to help create structure and guide the readers eye along. The main quote was chosen to be the subject of the poster as it is principle exercised in its design. Furthermore it is a principle that is shared from 8vo till the current MuirMcNeil. The placement of the content creates a visual zig-zag that is a play on the word 'z-axis'.  For "the potential of the z-axis to extend", these were an demonstration of how type can be used to communicate an extended z-axis. Hence the use the halftone and outlined type to allow the reader to see through the page that contrasts against the flat "to extend". The thin outlines of the text and border create contrast against the black weight. Having "the typo/graphic" placed onto the large shape breaks the flatness of the solid colour and continues the idea of seeing through the page. "Typo" set in red breaks the monotony of the design acting as the focal point of the poster. The placement of "space" is to communicate of the word's definition. Setting the quote in all lowercase makes it easier to read as a consistent x-height is maintained.

Printing these out, the effect of the tracing papers characteristic can be seen effectively. The design of the poster is seen through the folds, creating its own cover design and the content for the subsequent ‘pages’ inside, which was a concern as the viewer naturally reads the poster as it unfolds. There was a concern to have the content look 'correct' in relation to how the reader unfolds. The exposed content of the interview gives the reader context and as a result of the folding, it generates curiosity from the reader as the reverse type and layered content, making the reader want to unfold the poster to understand its message.

Given that concept behind using tracing paper was to demonstrate an extended z-axis, having a design on the back of the poster will take advantage of the translucency and create visual depth due to the softened look from the front.

The new additions to the posters design will be screen printed on the back as double sided A1 printing isn't possible. Done in white, it is meant to differentiate itself from the front's design, helping to convey a double side printing technique. These additional design elements give the posters content more structure and solidity on the page rather than looking like its floating.

The screen print however did not produce a desirable finish. The white ink dries a lot quicker than other colours, slowly blocking parts of the screen which limits a uniform print finish. This is very evident in the print quality on the cover, where quite a lot of the text is illegible due to fading. The end result is a print finish that isn't professional and doesn't effectively communicate the purpose of its design. That being said, the poster's concept and design is appropriate in demonstrating some of the points mentioned in the interview with Hamish Muir and their work done at 8vo.

However to send off the poster to Hamish Muir, a better print quality is required to show my professionality in design.