ITAP Lecture 5

DESIGN PROCESS

 This week ITAP lecture was about the importance of the design process when creating visual messages and building communication with the audience.

The first principle I want to talk about is Legibility.

Legibility is the degree  to which individual characters in the text are understandable and recognizable based on their appearance.

  It is very easy to lose meaning and purpose of our aim if we don’t follow some rules. First of all is to recognise the audience and choose appropriate style. In writing or text and image that includes: typeface, font size, clear image, composition, paragraphs, colour, spacing, alignment, layout of the image and text on the page and additional content together, all the above must be suitable for presented image to communicate the right message. There are other rules when creating magazine layouts: columns, margins, headlines, sub headlines etc. It is good to ask ourselves a question: Does it connect with the target audience? We must decide on the level of legibility depending on the purpose and the audience. It is also used in commercial visual communication such as maps, signs, instructions etc. Each project has a different purpose for instance informative, instructing, persuasive or convincing. If our goal is to clearly inform the target group and enable them to gain information the above rules can help to maintain final outlook. Whereas when we use words overlapping the image it might be illegible.

 I think is very important to make my blog legible and for that reason I have used bigger font size , a clear typeface, chosen colours of font and background.

Tone of voice

Tone of voice must be taken into consideration when we aim to communicate visually with a target audience. Very often, apart from the image, we also apply text which more distinctively emphasises the message we are sending. We do not always appreciate that Typography is everywhere. It is a huge part of advertising, publishing, packaging etc.

It is particularly chosen for certain groups of people create the right impression and reaction, for instance to buy the advertised product.

We can find Ideal connection of text and image in the ‘Sex has consequences’ advertisement for The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Tony Arefin is a graphic designer who cleverly works with typography and very often combines it with photography. The theme of the campaign is to encourage teenagers to have safe sex. He uses very strong quotes and picks out words highlighting the  valuable meaning for the theme. He accentuates the words even more using strong red colour which is a very emotionally intense and stimulates people to make a quick decision but also indicates danger.

Paula Scher is a graphic designer who uses historical design for the contemporary audience. 

 

Rihanna's latest album cover

Image source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legibility

http://web.media.mit.edu/~francis/projects/anthroText/

http://ilovetypography.com/2010/02/02/art-and-text/

http://www.justjared.com/photo-gallery/2402246/caleb-followill-spin-magazine-cover-kings-of-leon-02/

http://sandrarose.com/2012/07/rihanna-covers-harpers-bazaar-magazine/vibe-vixen-rihanna-harpers-bazaar-august/

http://new.pentagram.com/2012/11/paula-scher-and-seymour-chwasts-double-portrait-at-the-philadephia-museum-of-art/

http://www.paperideas.it/paperzine/news/3282-Paula_Scher#.UOSqCYFfaSo

ITAP Lecture 4

IDEAS & UNDERSTANDING

Research

In order to create a piece of art it is very important to prepare ourselves for a certain subject and this requires research. Research is a way of investigation to establish facts/principles or collect information on the subject we work on. It is a search for knowledge, to analyze data and understand a topic or issue. When we pose the question, in order to be able to answer it, we need to look at the query in depth, to research, to explore, study and examine the facts surrounding us. Research can be done in a variety of ways like books, the internet, libraries, interviews etc. There are also different types of research, primary and secondary. It is very important to direct our message to a target audience and try to engage visually.

Primary research- basically an artist, photographer, graphic designer, illustrator or animator have to start from scratch (i.e. taking photographs, conducting interviews and asking questions)

Secondary research- is all necessary data available from other organisations (collecting information to reinforce, influence our work)

Research is essential for me as a photographer. When I plan an outdoor photo shoot for instance, I always research the basics such as location and weather for that day and more advanced preparation like getting to know the model. Also to know the project itself and find the way to express myself creatively in relation to knowledge about historical and contemporary artists.

During our magazine project I have researched other photographers work, food photography, how to create interesting composition, food magazine layouts, structure for writing a review or various techniques for post production. It has accompanied me for the whole time and provided me with a broader picture of how to present my ideas.

This leads us to visual research which in that case allows us to find out what and how something has been done in the past. Research throughout the visual practice of collecting, studying and exploring a theme will contribute to understanding of the subject but also to the final outcome. This is from where we should look to acquire our inspiration.

Inspiration

Each person can be inspired by someone or something. We are individuals and everyone is different. We need to find what inspires us and how we can relate our surrounding environment to our work or use relevant research for ourselves and connect it with our work. There are many methods of recording things, collection, observation, drawings of images, behaviour, text, personal staff, feelings. These need to be recorded, the data  processed and the ideas developed to find the visual language to communicate them.

Personally I am inspired by looking at work of other photographers, their overall work, project and analysing it. I find personal blogs very helpful providing insight as to the artists and the inspiration for their ideas and how i can learn from it. It enables me to practice alternative and new styles and techniques to try to find my own route. I am particularly interested in documentary photography I think partially due to the fact that I am a very emotional person. I use my eyes, heart and mind to see and feel everything around me. I find it fascinating to watch people and take photographs of what they do. I don’t have to talk to them or communicate with them directly. Documentary photography gives me a safe distance, a quiet time but an emotional outcome. I think having a RVJ is necessary to create your own bank of ideas. I am not very good at drawing so tend to use photographs instead and develop my ideas from these.

 Bill Brandt was one of the  leading British photographers of the 20^th century. His work is notable for its splendid use of contrast and densely printed images. Brand created a personal photographic language and individual style which was original, experimental and involved deeper investigation.

Image source:

http://pleasurephotoroom.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/photo-bill-brandt-nude-london-1952/ 

http://www.creativedepart.com/photography/blast-from-the-past-bill-brandt/

ITAP Lecture 3

CONNECTIVITY

At the third week ITAP lecture we talked about Connectivity. Two of the 5 key principles which interested me the most were:

Notions of Originality

On  many occasions I wasn’t aware that some ideas e.g. in advertisement, were stolen from another artist. The ITAP lecture opened my eyes and I looked more deeply into the history of art and the history of photography. It is good to steal ideas for the inspirational purpose or to wake up the imagination. Therefore to achieve that it is recommended to read old books, look at old paintings, photographs and everything visual what could be an inspiration because everything has use, even the smallest detail. It is great  to find ideas which speak directly to your soul, like for example political concepts which can be re contextualised. A piece of artwork may look original but very often it is an idea redeveloped from a pre existing source. So the idea itself is not new, the new form of the idea is reshaped, reworked. However the line is very fine between our own idea and stealing ideas from someone else, this is called plagiarism.

I love the quote of Jim Jarmush: ,,Nothing is original’’. 

 

Below we can see the form which has been used many times for different ideas or commercial work and for contemporary commentary. It is a E.T.  c.1982 theatrical poster and ceiling paintings in the Sistine Chapel by Michael Angelo created between 1508-1512.

 

 It is important to ask the questions. What is the original intention behind the piece of work? Who is the audience for the work? What is the content?  When you contextualise something you need to ask yourself: what is it about? What is it for? It must be culturally specific but based on original source. It is not important from where the idea was taken but where it is taken to. What is the final context and message? 

The piece below 'Melanie Manchot - The Fontainebleau Series' 2001 is a reproduction of a piece created in 1594, yet this has been recreated again in 1998 by Mario Sorrenti for a YSL ad Campaign. We can see the similarities of both work but they have different meaning.

 

Unknown artist - Gabrielle d'Estrées - c.1594

Melanie Manchot – The Fontainebleau Series –c.2001

Mario Sorrenti – YSL ad Campaign - c.1998

 

Re contextualised Ideas and Concepts In Contemporary Culture

Cultural context in the piece of art makes relevant difference. Idea re contextualised in various forms which are recognised.  

Lucas Cranach - Adam and Eve –  c.1520

 

Peter Paul Rubens Adam and Eve  -c.1628-1629

 

The ideas which have been reshaped and recreated have titles which are the signposts in contemporary art for viewers. It gives attention to time frame which goes with a piece of artwork.  John Currin, is a contemporary painter who recreates images which may be called pornographic pictures. The fact that he uses paint instead of photography or moving image has changed the context and we read it differently. He has  re contextualised the idea to modern context.  The title is a signpost.

John Currin - After Courbet - c.2008

Gustave Courbet – Origine du Monde - c.1866

Image source:

http://bittennails.com/nothing-is-original-jim-jarmusch 

http://gw5.geneanet.org/samlap?lang=fr;p=cesar;n=de+vendome

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/melanie_manchot.php?i=481

http://00day.com/

http://www.therightscoop.com/glenn-beck-explains-michael-angelos-creation-of-adam/

http://geektyrant.com/news/2012/2/1/alternative-et-posters-are-outrageously-nostalgic.html

http://invisionfree.com/forums/thefall/ar/t26005.htm

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/cranach/lucas_e/07/index.html

http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2009/11/08/index.html