Design

2009-08-19T09:02:00.001-07:00

Had an interview with Keane yesterday which I really enjoyed. I would absolutely love to work there.

2009-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Errrr...

http://www.skinnywater.co.uk

50 favourite things

2009-08-18T08:53:00.001-07:00

made with Wordle

Artworker Portfolio for Kaos Arts

2009-08-01T02:05:00.000-07:00

I received some photographs from Kaos Arts yesterday of some of the projects I acted in an artworker capacity for (translating Karen's drawings into print-ready files), up in parks & schools!

2009-07-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

need to replace the logo on this one ^^

20ft banners for a school building front - draft

2009-07-28T01:37:00.000-07:00

2009-07-28T01:36:00.001-07:00

Photoshop painting so far - colouring a drawing by the lead singer of The Sin Kings for their demo cover.

Doodles

2009-07-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Commissioned for a demo sleeve design for The Sin Kings.
Doodles, including Lost Boys-inspired 80s doodles.

My portfolio book is complete!!

2009-07-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

A quick look at my final major project in fashion branding...

2009-04-05T14:31:00.001-07:00

Mood Board for 'Push' Final Project: Fashion Brand

2009-04-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

2009-04-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

Brief for Final Project

2009-04-01T04:10:00.000-07:00

2009-03-27T02:21:00.000-07:00

2009-03-27T02:20:00.001-07:00

Initial work for YCN brief. PRETTY BORING.

2009-03-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Background

Launched in 2000, asos.com has become the largest independent online fashion and beauty store
attracting four million visitors a month. asos.com has developed a loyal fashion following of people that
regularly visit the site to get the latest fashion pieces, style news and outfit inspiration.
asos.com has four “shops” onsite; menswear and grooming, womenswear, beauty and asos Red which
sells discount designer brands at a fraction of the cost.

Brand Value

— Authority. Staying one step ahead of the fashion zeitgeist whilst giving customers what they want when
they want it.
— Choice. Over 18,000 products online at any one time and representing over 600 brands covering high
street, designer and premium brands. A wealth of choice in one easy-to-shop online fashion store.
— Value. Great value, directional own buy product complimented by leading fashion brands.
— Best friend. Communication should feel personal.
Target Market
Fashion forward 16 to 34 year olds.

Challenges

Although awareness of asos.com is fairly equal amongst our target audience (males 40% females 44%),
asos is still seen by many as a female brand. Although men in the target market are comfortable shopping
online, they would be more likely to be shopping for electronics or music.

Pretty boring so far. I have another idea that feels more personal & witty though.

Logo Design for 'Chocolate Barns'

2009-03-21T17:41:00.001-07:00

mini project

2009-03-20T11:00:00.001-07:00

Logo/bag for a pretend shop

maestro

2009-03-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

Magic Tea

2009-03-01T01:56:00.000-08:00

I was recently doing some research and came across the term 'commodity fetishism' as coined by Karl Marx. 'Fetishism' in this case refers to the classic definition, a religious 'fetish' - an object, usually a doll, which is believed to possess power. As consumers we believe in the power of the things we buy.
It reminded me of a metaphor for the beauty industry-as-religion, I think it was Naomi Wolf who was discussing this - an interesting point although The Beauty Myth was appallingly lacking in proof or convincing research and full of leaps of faith.
She identified 'beauty' as a religion, 'ugliness' (and particularly the substance of fat) as evil/sin, and the various beauty 'rituals' as, well - its rituals.
It's not just the beauty industry that works in this way - although it is possibly the purest example - consumerism in general draws many parallels with religious faith. It seems that, as modern and cynical as we may feel, the need for magic, ritual and faith remains, and has been re-appropriated in the bosom of consumerism.

This week we were putting together a short educational film about drawing. 'The Story Of Art' by E.H. Gombrich and also James brought up points about cave paintings and drawings in primitive cultures having actual, real uses
in their eyes - images to ward off evil spirits, or to help with hunting - images with uses as valid as those of the huts built to keep out the weather, according to Gombrich.

We've always loved rituals, perhaps needed them. Is the faith and pleasure and belief we feel when we lovingly apply a cream to our face any less ridiculous than, for instance, a wiccan ritual with candles and stones? (I briefly moved piles of stones around and played with ouji boards as a teenager myself, but did not have grounds enough for any sort of belief).

In Sainsbury's earlier, I was buying things I did not need, and desperately trying to resist the urge to buy things because they cost 20p less than before i ever wanted them. I noted that they've now moved the impulse buys to where the queue waits - overpriced bite-sized biscuits, novelty items, cakes and wine.
I saw a selection of herbal teas in the health shop on the way home. Roobois - good for your mind, body and soul.
They're selling ethical righteousness and spiritual beliefs. Nothing unusual there. What occurred to me though was the direct reference to magical ritual that lies in the tea-making process. Infusing a special selection of dried leaves in hot water, watch the steam rise as if from a witch's brew, and then imbibing it, half-suspicious of its actual properties, but willing to have faith in its power (Chamomile is calming. Roobois is good for your mind, body and soul. Don't you know?) Magic won't work without faith. You have to concentrate, to believe - and the packet and the myths surrounding whatever particular tea we're making provides us with fuel for belief. So add hot water and leave it to do magical things and drink it down and you will have a good mind, body and soul. Advertising supplies 'proof' of its power so that we can take pleasure in the ritual.

We want to believe in the magical properties of the things we buy: herbal tea, anti-wrinkle creams, 'beauty' treatments - creams, potions, we do. In the same way we want to believe in religion. But the methods of getting us to believe are more sophisticated - they have to be, because we have a thousand times more sources of information, and we have a huge array of different versions of exactly the same product from which to choose. Hence, pseudo-science: microbeads, pentapeptides, scientific studies, the word 'dermatalogical' in everything, computer-generated graphics of brightly coloured layers of skin, strange orbs everywhere. 'Consuming' a substance is often an important part of religious ritual - magic potions, the body of Christ, etc. We consume tea and health foods for the same reason. Bath and shower products for women are often fragranced with fruit, or chocolate, or 'strawberries and cream', or are named as a 'souffle', a 'cream'. We bathe in them in place of eating them (because eating is evil). So, in a way that is more real than we might first realise, we are 'consuming' them. Cigarettes are 'consumed' in this physical way, also. Smoke has to do with magic - fire is magical. Consumer products: the fetishes of our magic rituals.

I have some hair wax product of some kind which has an interesting selling point. It claims to contain 'fibres' which are activated by 'clapping'. This made me believe that it must be a really good thing to have: it must do something amazing.
Why? Because there is a ritual involved. I am involved in the process of making it work. Clap to activate: like one of those impressive light switches. As I clap, I imagine the amazing way in which the product has now been 'activated' and is 'working'. Even though I have absolutely no way of knowing whether or not it has done anything at all.

Same with eye creams, moisturizers, firming lotions, anti-ageing products... and a vast array of products outside of this category which rely on the same principle, but in different ways.

When historians look back on our culture, our beauty rituals, our tea-making, will be no different to the rituals that we look back on now and find archaic and naive.

Now, I am going to have a cup of tea.

typeface design progress

2009-02-28T11:29:00.001-08:00

2009-02-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

Introductory Media [networking materials]

2009-02-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Please ignore the ridiculous pink jellyfish - it's just an example of the 'ink blot interpretations' I'd like to base it on.

Logo ideas for a tour supply company

2009-02-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

2009-01-31T11:59:00.000-08:00

"Should you be a stationery junkie then you’ll be so busy salivating over the combination of corrugated cardboard and tea-stained card used for The Conscripts’ press pack that you’ll barely notice the fractious punk tunes that burst from the CD with unhinged energy."

http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/9692/Conscripts__Conscripts_EP.html

Final 'Conscripts' Negotiated Study Project

2009-01-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

Inspiring Young People

2009-01-14T11:17:00.001-08:00

Last year I started training young people in Creative Technology in Leamington Spa (www.hybridarts.co.uk). It's been very challenging. I've been trying to feel my way around it and think up methods and try to squeeze in the time to put together lesson plans. I need to think about subject, topic, method, structure, encouragement, bonding, outcome.
Click image to see the beginnings of the booklet.

This year my students are in year 11 and will be leaving school, and us, soon - they need something to show for their time with us. I think it's important for morale to have professional teaching materials and booklets, so I put something together which tries to focus on pointing out, acknowledging and recording achievement and learning, and uses positive language to reinforce this. My students have a tendency to give up easily because they 'can't' do it.

The next challenge is implementing it. Not so easy.

The Conscripts

2009-01-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

I have formulated an idea for my penultimate negotiated studies project.
I needed to find a way of taking the war themes in The Conscript's music (http://theconscripts.cjb.net) and using them ironically, relevantly, and meaningfully. One of the largest problems was making a statement that is modern and relevant right now, whilst still using the rich wealth of first world war imagery in their music.

I wanted to focus on the numbing effect of horror and death, its reality and unreality. I looked at themes of anaesthetic, combining war and death with everyday objects.
I looked at the word 'galvanize' and 'inspire', words the band themselves use to describe what their music is intended to do.

I finally came up with this: war games - those video games boys play where they pretend to be soldiers and kill things. It is related to triviliazation and numbing, it is everyday, it is ultra modern, it combines the themes perfectly.

And then the CD packaging itself - I've been interested in quite a nice card construction design for a while as an alternative to a jewel case, which holds a CD in place quite ingeniously. It can be modified to form a tray which slides inside a sleeve, not unlike the way a disc slides out of your playstation or xbox or whatever. So the packaging can be a games console. What follows is that the information booklet is a games manual, the manual of a war game.

The next problem is this: no matter how over the top and graphic and bloody and despairing I get with the copy and design, it's still not discernable from a real game. So I need to get ironic somehow.
I have a solution to this, and it's somewhat rude.

2008-11-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Chamber Punk

2008-11-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.myspace.com/bonfiremadigan

Found a comment by them on the myspace for a zine I sometimes buy about female artists. Haven't thought about them in years. I'll have to buy a CD.

Thinking of going adventuring to Ladyfest Manchester this weekend... Zombina & The Skeletones, The Slits, Vile Vile Creatures, Miss The Occupier, Awesome Wells... somebody pinch me!

Stand by for my Disorganizised poster in the (vague) style of Alphonse Mucha, the finished Conscripts demo sleeves, press stuff and mock-ups for marketing events/website, and a mini-project about make-up branding.

Volunteering at Plus+ on Friday and then I might run away to Manchester, depending on financial and work constraints.

2008-11-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

London cancelled!

Have been doing some reading about branding and feeling pretty lazy. Went to a halloween gig for The Sin Kings dressed as...something half dead. We were then driven home by an apparently psychotic taxi driver. I fulfilled a private hero-fantasy of mine and got the chance to ask a big issue seller if she had somewhere warm to stay, without it being awkward or dangerous or embarrassing as I know her relatively well. She did, so the rest of the hero-fantasy was unnecessary.

Got another poster commission to be getting on with soon, for a music/spoken word event at the Kitchen Garden Cafe.

I'm really enjoying this book on branding by Matthew Healey. Seems sick, doesn't it? I've spent years ranting at television advertising though, and hence have a heightened interest in the backstage workings of product advertising and positioning, and a pseudo-savvy attitude to consuming. Understanding how to construct a brand implements the right and left sides of my brain - both very active and quite separate - and also, it occurred to me today, allows me to feel that I am taking control of that blaring box and those messages and images which bombard me day after day. I can shake my fist at the tv and say, I RULE YOU!!

I'm learning a lot and banishing a lot of naivete in an area which I've had a vested interest for a long time - the messages that advertising is trying to drum into me and the world, its motives and how it all works. And also, learning a process and a profession which involves problem-solving, meeting peoples' specific needs, working across a wide variety of media and themes, and nurturing the difficult beasty of Creativity. And that's very satisfying.

2008-10-31T04:38:00.001-07:00

At the moment I'm finalizing designs for the Conscripts' demo/press packs and masterminding marketing/publicity activities which involve rallying followers through interaction and involvement.

Reading up on branding, and really must start making notes for my dissertation.
I'm undertaking some branding exercises which focus on taking a seed of truth... and nurturing it. I'll also be experimenting with visual language and tone by producing a series of flyers.

Got some lovely books recently; Visceral Pleasures by Vaughan Oliver (I do so love the Doolittle artwork...I used the demo sleeve years ago for my GCSE sketchbook...here I am again! I really must buy the album as it got misplaced) - Designed by Peter Saville and a few bits on branding/semiotics.

I have to get into town and post my Type Tart Card before the deadline.

This weekend, however, I am paying a much-anticipated visit to London to see my close friend Fyzal Boulifa, up-and-coming writer and director of sumptuously bleak short films

I'll be helping at the Plus Festival on Thursday and am back in Leamington Spa teaching Photoshop to the 15-18 year old massive on Wednesday.

Call for Volunteers

2008-10-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

A bit of fun....

2008-10-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

Cafe Press

2008-10-20T02:24:00.000-07:00

My entry for the Type Tart Cards competition....
As usual, Flickr has made the colours go a bit funny!
(probably my fault for using the wrong palette actually).

latest demo ideas

2008-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Photos from The Conscripts photoshoot

2008-10-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

A few photos....my camera isn't too great and keeps uploading pictures in a low res for some reason :(
The band wanted photographs in a wrecked room, a la trainspotting...I'd just moved house and had a mostly empty flat. So I went to my old house and got loads of bags of recycling bottles and rubbish and trashed my new lounge with 2 years' worth of wine bottles that never got put out for recycling.

(uploading to Flickr seems to have affected the quality slightly)

2008-09-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

First draft of Conscripts demo sleeve.

http://www.myspace.com/conscription

2008-09-16T15:38:00.001-07:00

Decided I should do some personal artwork in Photoshop as it's been a long time. This is a drawing I did a while ago. My photoshop knowledge has increased considerably just recently, particularly as I've been researching to teach it, and as a result my style seems quite different now, I finished this very quickly, it doesn't look amazing but I'm pleased I finished it in an evening.
I was naughty here and used a built-in Photoshop rose brush...but it's surprisingly nice!

latest drafts

2008-09-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

2008-09-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Doing some t-shirt designs for Hybrid Arts' 'Extraordinary Cycles' event, to do with Flatland BMX...stuff. Here's one idea.
My work seems to be quite clinical lately. I don't know whether I should loosen it up a bit and add some hand-illustration.

BUT looky, I made a bike chain brush! ^_^ Haven't decided what to do with it yet, hence the shapeless curve...

2008-09-12T20:24:00.001-07:00

I've just done some work for Karen at Kaos-Arts.com - I was recommended to her by someone from my work placement in Digbeth last year. Which is pretty cool.

I just traced some park signage into illustrator which she created with some children.
Bit of a learning curve in terms of working in Illustrator while someone's watching!
I had taken on WAY too much work that week and was falling apart a bit, so my first externally-referred freelance project was nearly a bit of a disaster, but in the end things were OK.

http://www.kaos-arts.com

2008-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

I've managed to convince my friends The Conscripts to let me do various things for them in terms of design, including working on their logo and designing their demo sleeve. Yay!
Formerly Fade To Sepia, they're a very dedicated and serious band, sounding kind of like The Fall, Joy Division, etc. Particularly in their 1st and 2nd world war-related affectations.
So I've got the likes of Factory Records to have a look at.

Dave of The Conscripts showed me a logo he had drafted together, the silhouette of a hand with a cross through it, and said that he wanted it 'stark'.
Here are my current drafts which are more or less done I think.

The demo sleeve is going to be a war artifact.... you'll have to wait and see!

2008-09-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

I met a girl at a party recently, she saw these pictures which I took of my friend Abi and gave to her as a gift, and asked me to take some of her.

My camera isn't that good, I'm not a photographer and my Flash kit is a bit dim.
But I do like to have a go! And Photoshop can theoretically fix all ills.
I think I may have overdone that a bit.... I accidentally took all of the photos at 72 dpi though and had to do a bit of airbrushing!!
Here are a few of the 13 or so that made the final cut.

2008-08-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

A very quick attempt at designing a logo for Rhubarb Radio in an attempt to ingratiate myself with Birmingham/Moseley. I didn't have a great deal of spare time and since there were design companies involved I didn't submit any more ideas.
I guess this was more of a swift exercise in typography and copycatism than a final design.
Overcompensating for my first design I think, which was based on a rhubarb and custard sweetie and, being hand-rendered to start with, looked like some sort of 70's hippiewagon daubing.

2008-08-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

2008-07-27T06:43:00.001-07:00

2008-07-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

Just getting the hang of using type...

2008-07-26T05:24:00.001-07:00

Flyer for the Prince of Wales.
The Prince of Wales is a very traditional pub in terms of its interior, but obviously for an event like this, and in order to stay in profit they would like to attract a young crowd. So I wanted to create something a bit funky to compete with the newer, refurbished, trendier pubs that are in abundance around Moseley, without trying to deny The Prince's unique traditional character.
In order to do this, I took some photographs of some of the lovely patterns inside the pub - wrought iron on the stools, gilt on the mirrors, etc - and traced it into a vector pattern. I took this one from an old piano that sits in the bar.
I tried to match the colours with the pub's interior too - next time however I'll try to take into account print colour (although it's difficult when they're using an inkjet). I thought the typographic nature of the poster would bring it up to date in spite of the wine colour scheme.

The fonts are a nice chunky one I found on my boyfriend's computer, and something that is actually a graffiti/tagging font, which seems to work well. It mirrors some of the shapes in the more sensible font which means it doesn't look out of place, while adding that essential 'young' edge.

I now think that the text is a bit too wimpy and could do with a bit more oomph, to fill up the space a bit more, but I'm quite pleased with it as it was a rather large step for me in terms of using type as form - it was a bit of a 'eureka'! moment.

Is anyone else utterly appalled by the recent spate of anti-aging product advertising?

2008-07-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Brands like Revitalift now appear to have formed an alliance with the global cosmetic surgery industry and adopted slogans like 'until you need a permanent lift... there's Revitalift'.

Obviously they've agreed not to discount or de-value butchery in their advertising, but even to promote it. UNTIL you NEED a permanent lift...

I also remember very clearly when women's magazines, aimed at working-class women, had horror story after horror story about comsmetic surgery going wrong and the horrible injury and bruising it can cause for months afterwards - there is clearly an endless supply of such tales. Yet about 5 years ago they suddenly started printing stories of joy and rebirth.... it changed my life, I'm finally happy with the way I look! Followed swiftly by a full-page advert for some dodgy surgery centre, where they'll re-augment your breasts or stuff them or break your nose and re-build it. Then if it actually makes any improvement to the way you feel about the way you look, obviously your entire life will be transformed.

Aside from the violence of surgery, the lies about transforming your life are even bigger and come with a steeper price than a car or a telephone contract, maybe even a loan.

And whilst anti-aging products work on the same lies, they could at least have taken a superficial stand against surgery. I'd probably hate that almost as much. Like Dove's 'Real Beauty' campaign - 50-year old supermodels and size 14 exercise-freaks with no cellulite and the odd freckle. They actually tried to enter that ad campaign into the awards for charity campaigns in 2006 or something like that. Obviously they got told where to go. Ha!

Also, regarding the recent laundry conditioner ads.... how can 'diamond and lotus flower' be a fragrance ??!?!! Or Ruby or Sapphire?

2008-07-25T17:25:00.001-07:00

2008-07-25T17:20:00.001-07:00

I am specializing in Branding & Identity for my final year. I recently took a short course in business essentials which was quite rewarding, and am trying to read up on brand strategies. It may seem corporate to you - but I rather enjoy problem-solving; if a business or person gives me a word or idea I try to make it happen, it's not just graphic design but it includes graphic design. This has been a rather large concept for me to wrap my little brain around. But I seem to have done it now. I think identity is the nitty-gritty of design. And the rules and planning and drive that I've applied to myself can be applied almost precisely to business. Which is quite useful.

I'm finishing the youth decay website (slowly, particularly as I have no internet connection)... I helped design the new menu for the Prince of Wales. But I only had a day and what I provided was the bare bones, intended to be improved upon by the wine company's in-house design team.... So I used basic fonts, like the awful MS French SCript, to give an idea of contrasting fonts.
When the final menu came in, the fonts had become even more simplified and the first print, designed to be a deep burgundy, had come out in a horrendous shade of salmon. So, I learned, don't underestimate yourself, and don't necessarily trust in-house design teams to be better than you are.
Even if they are in London.

Now I need to think of a really great concept for a portfolio website and build it. And I need to do my CV and start researching my proposal and dissertation.

I want to use a band who are friends of mine as an ongoing branding/identity project ofr the next year, they're called The Conscripts and are very serious and dedicated and good. But I do need to convince them further.

I should be teaching a couple of photoshop classes in August which I'm quite excited about.

Youth Decay Clothing

2008-07-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Current web project:

http://www.youthdecay.co.uk

2008-07-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

These are draft menu ideas for the Prince. I provided the documents for the in-house design team of the wine company the pub uses. I only had a few hours to come up with the designs (which use gilt patterns from a mirror inside the Prince, with greenery taken from photographs of the front of the pub - the bright green to bring a modern edge to the traditional/classy wine colour).
Because I knew the document would be going to a design team, I used some very basic fonts to give a general idea with the idea that they would then take this forward into something more sophisticated when presented with the final menu. This didn't happen and I learned a valuable lesson about not making presumptions!

2008-06-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sketches

2008-05-08T00:50:00.000-07:00

Not long until this needs to be finished as a dummy book... Argh!

Media Talent Bank

2008-05-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Put a profile up here...

Sarah Ingram Profile

Narrative Sequence

2008-04-10T00:51:00.000-07:00

I had my illustration tutorial yesterday, which was quite promising. I've found a style and it dawned on me recently the value of using reference material. I need to carefully choose photographic reference material and render i it in fineliner. I've got a lot of work to do on the layout of my book though and whether I want to do single-page images or lots of narrative panels.... My tutor seems pleased with what I'm doing which is a great relief, as I'm doing mostly graphics modules with one illustration module, and even talking about book submissions. I've got a lot of work to do though and I find drawing really intimidating.

I'm going to have to pick a specialism for next year soon and I'm still doing a bit of everything!

D&AD Awards Entry

2008-04-08T00:52:00.000-07:00

The Brief

The Covers

2008-03-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

Last year, I was offered a week's work experience at Notion Studio in Digbeth, an associate of BCU.

One of my tasks was to animate some pre-made characters in Flash for use in their Media Talent Bank website. I got an email today to say it has finally gone live...

Someone else designed the characters, I just made them move!

New Modules

2008-02-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

I still need to re-organize my Science Fiction Book Cover boards and send them off to the D&AD competition. I also need to pick up my grades and speak to the tutor about what to do about entering the competition. Deadline is 20 March.

Got a 2:1 for life drawing, a 2:1 for creative writing, and probably a 2:1 for something else I can't remember. But lots of grades I haven't picked up yet.

I've got a part time job on a Wednesday afternoon, supposedly teaching young people who need an alternative education and are studying music, how to use design software. I think I have bored them so far. Now i have 2 part time jobs.
I've done a business name and logo design for my mum's Training/Life Coaching business and am building a website. Might have to leave that to one side for a while.

Modules for the next 12 weeks:

Narrative Sequence. (Illustration)
Mostly based on Children's Books, but I will be doing an adult graphic novel probably. Need a plot and a concept.
Have to have a few double page spreads ready. Popped into waterstones to see what graphic novels are selling. Some of them have some narrative text as well as speech and images which is reassuring.

Creating a Visual Identity. (Graphic Design)
We are in groups and have to form political parties, and later we will be doing branding and identity individually. Somehow my group has come up with British Identity. Compiled a few web pages to look at concerning this, multiculturalism etc, along with the meaning of the british flag etc.

THS
I have chosen 'Representations of sexuality in perfume/toiletries ads' for my presentation.

Notes:

Sexuality according to Wikipedia: 'How people experience and express themselves as sexual beings'.
Books to look at: Foucault, feminist literature. Mythologies.

Stuff to do: Tape perfume/toiletry ads and record my personal reactions. Semiotic analysis - binary opposites. Framing devices, devices to make the ad seem natural or like a 'window onto reality'. Role of the spectator in inserting meaning. Social context and values of suggested reality. Dominant ideology of culture.

Tutor's suggestions: spectrum of gender: homosexuality through to aggressive heterosexuality/female sexuality. Age spectrum.

Individualism and sexuality.
Values.
Target audience - often very specialist for perfume ads.
Youtube: spoof perfume ads?
'intertextuality' - advertising referencing other related texts
(e.g. women underwater with hair floating everywhere??)
Hidden persuasion.
Feminist viewpoints.

2008-02-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

Orion Book DANDAD brief

2008-01-22T00:17:00.000-08:00

Foil blocking & stretched out format = shelf appeal

My idea works because I have compressed key ideas and themes from each novel into a symbol which must be decoded. This coupled with the sleek black and white colour scheme, stretched out format and minimal use of foil blocking provides shelf appeal to a wide audience.

To Do - January 14th

2008-01-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

Gra-Fix

Mock up navigation bar ideas - keep simple to leave room for group theme/logo/colour scheme. Structural ideas for website: flowchart

Create example of scrolling newsfeed

Create example of a gra-fix forum with various topics & interactive elements

Gather material for & mock up 2 'design advice' pages in Illustrator/InDesign

Build example of gallery? Research Flickr, look for ways users can upload examples

Design optional animated elements for website

Email ideas to group for clarification

grafix notes

2008-01-14T03:37:00.000-08:00

Drop-down/popout menus in HTML - Layers. Menu present on every page on the left, does not change whilst browsing site- subheadings displayed for each section

Scrolling newsfeed on homepage - provides movement, saves space. flash component with link to alternative HTML version (opening in new window) Can make this link to an easily editable text file rather than going through flash - easily update news

How can users upload images to a gallery automatically?
Grafix logo acts as 'home' button
Forum - image uploading here?
Gallery - start with images by the group. Flickr?
Use Flickr?
Link to users' Flickr accounts & display examples
Flickr group?

Redesign site competition - submit mock-up or zipped folder with HTML (email)

black&white - can't go wrong, classic, contrasting, attractive

Use headline tags for each page - particularly the homepage - make sure we're searchable in google! Ensure all pages have titles in the browser bar.

Have plenty of webspace at www.sarahaccident.com. Can link for free through http://grafix.cjb.net or purchase a .com or .co.uk domain for about a tenner

Anchor tags link to other components

Update/Notes

2007-10-30T06:05:00.001-07:00

Break the poster format:

Beer mats
Plastic glasses - designs
T shirts
Postcards
Slip-in cards for albums
Patches

Advertising specific bands rather than gigs

Strangetime (pj harvey, souxsie and the banshees)
The Fairytale (the smashing pumpkins, placebo)
Cerwin (nirvana, sonic youth)
Koala Grip (rachel stamp, yeah yeah yeahs )
Violet Beauregarde (veruca salt, queen adreena)

Youth Decay website.

STRANGETIME
PJ Harvey and The Banshees

The Fairytale
Birmingham's Pumpkins

Cerwin
A 3-piece Sonic Youth

Koala Grip
Pop Punk, insane like rachel stamp, like nothing else.
Debut album on the way.

Violet Beauregarde
Veruca Salt and Queen Adreena for Birmingham

YOUTH DECAY

Music in Birmingham - Issues Based Project

2007-10-03T07:24:00.002-07:00

So I've spoken to David Os and am going to look at music in Birmingham - the music I am personally involved with - and study artwork, graphic authorship, underground scenes in places like New York and movements from the past, and the look and feel of them, and see what I can come up with for Birmingham - something unique to birmingham that offers a stamp of quality to events, gigs etc, and maybe makes us feel involved and excited. Something that isn't necessarily uber-cool custard factory style dance-scene stuff - which already has its own identity. What I'd love to continue doing is artwork for bands, inspired by music and designed to illustrate and promote music, so the opportunity to base a project around flyers and promotional materials in this area would be great - there's nothing as rich, exciting and with as much freedom involved, I don't think.
I've got a book of rock posters (the american illustrated kind) and will be doing some research on the various movements, both in graphics and music, and how they interlink, and how I can make things seem more exciting around here - create an atmosphere, work some magic in the grunge/indie arena. The big gap is in promotion and interest for us lousy guitar bands. What makes a scene a scene? is it all retrospective, romance from a distance? Or can I conjure one up out of slogans and images? So, I don't know if this is possible yet but it will be fun!

I think I will use the title 'Youth Decay'.

Expressive Use of Graphic Design: Personal Issues-based Project

2007-10-03T02:16:00.000-07:00

My initial ideas for this project, after much agonizing over what issue could possibly be clear-cut enough for me to create a poster for, was based around the media focus on Madeleine McCann's disappearance and the general hysteria it entails - I thought I could pick a current issue and then try to generate my own response to it, as my beliefs and passions are vague and changeable. The issue was supposed to be the hundreds of children that go missing every year, and the child sex trafficking which I am led to believe is rife all over the world. I wanted to generate some thought around where the hysteria stops, and where the line for childhood is drawn - when does it become okay for a person to be used for their body or traded in (never, I'm sure you would reply, but where is the line? There is a client base, all over the world, for prostitution and sex trafficking. Who are they?) And then I wanted to say, how do you separate a consenting adult from a victim?

I made a poster from around 130 images of children that came up on Google when I typed in 'missing child', along with some images of mail-order brides, prostitutes, erotic dancers or glamour models. The type was made up of Madeline McCann's glowing face, with the images of other missing children arranged in a grid and fading into darkness in the background.

I could go further with this and use the slogan 'Have You Seen This Child?' to ask a more general philosophical question about where the line between childhood and adulthood, and victimhood and invisibility, is drawn. I would like to incorporate my own graphic style more into this project, and actually I would prefer not to ask this sort of vague political question. My approach towards creativity is to veer away from politicizing it, to me they are on different planes. Politics is based on subjective information, whereas design, illustration and art is a straightforward expression of emotion. I will persuade if I am asked to, but my own political stance is apathetic and untrustworthy.

For this reason I may change my approach to this brief. I had great difficulty coming up with an 'issue' which I feel strongly about without questioning it - I would much prefer to stick to something more lighthearted and closer to home. I have no wish to start stirring up a dialogue on something I know nothing about.

Having seen the more lighthearted and personal approach of some of the other members of our class I am thinking about creating some sort of communication which will encourage young people in Birmingham to find the bands and musicians lurking around that are genuinely alternative and genuinely talented. I would like to create a 'scene' using only graphics and visual communications which will start to make people feel as though quality music in Birmingham has some sort of ground zero - obviously this would start off highly weighted towards friends of mine, but only towards that music I really feel deserves to be heard and rated. I would like to create a range of posters and an identity that starts to group together local music into the cream of Birmingham and involves the audience in a 'scene', and makes them feel welcome and drawn to local gigs, instead of confused and lacking in quality control. Can I create a new underground scene using only visual posters and communications?

Screen Media Lab

2007-09-14T02:05:00.000-07:00

I undertook a weeks' work experience in Summer 2006 at Notion Studio, Digbeth - this is the moving image department of Screen Media Lab.

I made some idents for a client's showreel - I'm not sure if these were put into use, but I think the first one may have been.

http://sarahaccident.com/Blobs.swf

http://sarahaccident.com/glowing.swf

http://sarahaccident.com/grrsquares.swf

I also animated some pre-made characters (unfortunately I can't take credit for the design) in Flash, for the Media Talent Bank website - these are currently in use on the website.

http://sarahaccident.com/Pierce.swf

http://sarahaccident.com/Alex.swf

http://sarahaccident.com/Clair.swf

http://sarahaccident.com/Dina.swf

3rd Prize entry to E4 Skins competition

2007-07-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

From 2006 - Illustrator + Flash, made in 2 days when I heard about the competition and the deadline was looming. I find it a bit embarrassing now, I hadn't really used Illustrator much before and certainly hadn't made such a long animation in Flash.
Came 3rd though.

(backdated-posted in 2008)

Old stuff

2006-09-14T02:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.sarahaccident.com/washingmachine

Embarrassing now because it's so personal and my first attempt at website design, (I studied website design before I studied design really, I must add) but this was my entry to a D&AD competition. The brief was to design a website that described a typical day in your life.

I do like the interface though. I'd like to make something else that works like that somehow but need to come up with a concept.

I'm astounded that it still works so smoothly!