ppd portfolio evauation

The main focus of my portfolio is mainly print based projects as this is my key area of focus, it consists of a variety of vectorised artwork, type and illustrations as I want to show that I am a well rounded individual. I wanted to start of with the most recent piece of work I have produced so that potential work placements can see what I am currently producing. From this I start to show a steady development of work from the end of first year to my current point to help show designers how I have developed as an individual and designer. Beginning with a lot of work focusing on the creation of images through illustrator.
I don’t feel my work currently fits in with specific company’s design work but individually I feel I have produced pieces that have obvious connections and relations to other practitioners. Such as my pack illustrations are take a similar approach to the design work if Si Scott and SHCH, but I feel I have created something that has a different aspect to there designs more individual to myself. Also some of my poster design work, I can see a lot of Mike Place’s design style within in them. I still feel I need to 100% focus on a definitive style to develop so my design work doesn’t get confused but maintain good knowledge of other areas so I can also keep producing good work in those fields. However for this portfolio I feel it gives potential clients and work placements a good variety of what I am about.
I feel that I can engage with live briefs more and I have good concept ideas but I feel I could improve finished products by a lot and design pieces that really stand out and are both creative and unique. I also feel I am improving my standard of developmental and research work so I can get a clear understanding of where I am going with a brief instead of losing track with them. I feel my technical skills are very good especially in creating vector-based imagery but I would like to improve this so that I can touch up illustrations so that they are suitable for print.
As I progress I want to combine more illustration and type together and hopefully adapt a skill set that allows me to create designs that incorporate them both as one design such as the work of Alex Trochut. Who I think will be a big influence on my design work on the future. I will be looking to produce work that is finished to a similar quality in the third year. Along with this I hope to engage with more screen print as I feel it is and ideal tool for the work I am planning and wanting to produce in the future.
As for my dissertation I decided to develop my understanding of creative type and how it has developed over the last century looking at key moments which where affected by the improvements in technology and the creative design of the designers in that period. This will hopefully give me a chance to understand how pieces of work are created these days and in past years so I have a firm idea of how I can produce my own personal work. Also I hope within the research find out more about the design agencies I would like to work for and may even find one I didn’t know about that is perfect for my design practice.

type evaluation

DESIGN FOR PRINT-SELF-EVALUATION

What have you learned about your abilities as a designer?    

I found over the course of this project I wasn’t working anywhere near the standards that I was working at towards the end of last year, however I have still developed my skills especially creating vector art work which I tried at the end of last year with no prevail. I still feel I have a lot of potential to learn more and hopefully through out the process of the next set of briefs I can show that through my work.

What specific areas of interest have you identified and why do they interest you?

Last year I had a very strong interest in typography however this year I have done a lot more work based on creating imagery, I have began to find I have a growing interest in creating imagery using both hand drawn and computer based work, with both still needing to be of higher quality.  I feel from working with creating images I have learnt a lot more in my own time and I can see the developments in my skills a lot quicker than when I work with type.

What practical skills have you developed and how have you used them? 

I have developed my skills on illustrator creating the imagery for the project, and refreshed my skills on Photoshop which I neglected a bit last year thus meaning I’m not as comfortable on it as I was a year or so ago. I don’t feel I have developed much through this brief as I feel I’ve cruised through it and not really engaged with it as much as I wish I would have which would have meant I’d get a lot more enjoyment out of doing it.   

 What personal skills have you developed and how have you used them?

I have found it easier to talk and discuss ideas with people outside of crits, however I haven’t been very officiate or helpful in many of the crits I’ve been a part off. I still feel the essence of time delegation would seriously improve and develop my personal skills.

What have you learned about yourself as a learner? 

I learn a lot faster when I work independently  as I can figure out the (either  or an alternative however I still need the initial tuition to build my  basic skills and knowledge, for example I will need to maintain my attendance to keep the information flow constant.

What do you feel your overall strengths are? 

Punctuality, getting on time to places will let me get the most out off sessions and private study. Design and development I am always designing and developing my ideas at every point within a project but I think the addition of more hand drawn sheets and designs that are backed up by quantifiable information will be a good thing to make more suitable and effective designs. 

What areas do you feel you need to improve on? 

Keeping time better and knowing when to work and when to break so there is a right balance between the two. I feel I need to keep learning and creating on both illustrator and Photoshop to develop my skills further thus meaning I can improve the quality and level of work I produce in the future. I want to improve skills in the screen print room, as I don’t feel I have made use of the facility enough. Communicating ideas clearer to tutors and other students would benefit there understanding and the feedback I get from them. Reaserach In a much more critical manor and include costing and print methods 

Briefly state what you intend to achieve over the next three months. 

I want to start producing higher quality products whilst still creating a good high level of back up work to support it.  A realisation of where and what I want to do on my work experience and on future projects. I need to create a better structure week by week so I keep a constant flow of work going and I can give myself time to work on the final thing a lot earlier than the last week.

Briefly state your aims for next year. 

Within the next year I hope to be producing better standards of work that have a very effective design that will deliver message much more clearly and effectively. Also next summer I would like to gain a decent work experience to learn more about the industries of design.

Within the next year I want to utilise the graphic studio space but that of the print rooms and digital dungeon as well so I gain better knowledge of the areas which I hope will be an advantage in the later stages of the cause. 

General Comments 

I feel I need to pick up the quality if work especially in the end product witch I hope to be backed up with a healthy quantity and quality. This is cue to poor time management on my part and I need to get into a routine which allows me to develop as s deign.

How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

(Please indicate using an ‘x’) 

 

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

cover design

Face. DesignerIsTheNewRockstar.

i picked these designs out as they where so simple and the image on the front grabed my attention straight away. anouther reason to like this piece would be that it has a feel of class to it, the design has been simplified and does't emulate other magazines such as ok, hello etc which work graphically but don't carry of a sense of style and fashionable image. i also think this piece works because of the quality of the photographs themselves which i will defernatly take into consideration in future and hope to use my photography skills to produce them.

product design

i found this product in a computer arts magazine, i noticed it because i really like product design and i felt this was such a good idea dn was so so simple, the design has not been overcomplicated and the appropriate format of a paper clip is well used and can been seen in the final outcome. i hope that in briefs to come i can target and come up with unique and inivative i deas that can be so simple but clever and very useful.

Charles & Marie: Alphabetical Paperclips - PRESALE 04/2008

characters

http://www.thisisrealart.com/

mtv characters

i particularily like these characters as they are so unique and have a very good sense of hummer surounding them, each one has been produced with a very appropriate take on the particular mtv channel, and with the combination of the simplicity, hummour and appropriateness the pieces work very well. in the future i would like to have a go at tring to create and develope characters when appropriate in future briefs.

video and animation

i saw this when i first watched the movie in the cinema it looked so good and what made it better than alot of starting sequences for films was that it was different and didn't try to look all fantasitic and computer generated. the illestrations continue through the film and give a great sense of personality to the film. in the seacond year there will be possibilities to explore animation so i could incorporate this style in to my piece if i find it is appropriate.


after looking at this video it has given me the desire to produce a type and a imaged based sketchbook that i can develope my handcrafting abilities and i have a strong interest in type so therefore would like to see what i can produce i will have to consider whether it will be produced with a context in mind or just playful in the sencse that what ever comes to my mind.

posters

http://blog.pentagram.com/paula-scher/
this site has some really nice and clever pieces from paula scher, i esspecialy like the ny ballet poster as it is very simplistic and keeps a feeling of class which helps identify and show off the ny ballet in a very flatering way.


i think these poster designs are really whitty and clever the simplicity is great as it allows people to get the message and the humor behind, if the short cut signs where not used and where replced with normal type then they wouldn't work.

i really want to be able to design a piece that works just like this where  there is frazes but  they have been created in a very ambiguose manner. also i like that the designs arn't b and w they use colour well and colour is needed to emphasise the fraze itself.
http://mylittleunderground.net/products/commands/index.htm

just a really clever piece i found whilst looking around on the build web site, the use of the space is very clever why use all the space if the message is easier to read in this way, i need to consider this with future work, i don't need to fill the stock just apply a design in an appropriate symplistic way that doesn't consist of unneccesary information, i hope my critical and editorail knowledge in terms of the information required on the page will progress and i will become more knowledgable about language and the use of it within my designs.



the intial simplicity of places designs is great but when you look into them they are very complex and have this subtltiy  that works so well, i am beginning to take alot of inspiration from this designer and i think i will only learn more and more as i generate more design work and ideas. but i don't want to copy his work mearly use it to find my own unique style.


 
 within place's work there is a very good use of hiaraci which has to be considerd with everything i do and other designers do. Place uses a great contrast in large and small type and has been layed out really well. as i keep learning and progressing i hope i can find i style in which i create work that influences and is appreciated by other designers and people who are not part of the design industrie.
http://wearebuild.com/projects/get-involved


Build - Scale Series

i really like that these posters are so thought out and that they are actual objects but have been measured and scaled so that they are all the same. i really want to explore quite technical design work, where the concept and meaning is complex and intersting but is put across so simply and appropriatly.

adverts

i picked up on this image in the illustration section but i wanted to use it to compare to the other pieces.

i really like the design as it has a very nice flow to it and i like that the use of lines and shapes have been used to give the impression of the music and the style in which it has been  done is smooth and flowing as music generaly is an enjoyable thing to listen to and jagged sharp lines would not have been appropriate. also i like the c=fact the headphones have been put within a real life scene and has been finished well.


this piece of advertising is again very nice and i like the large quantities of imagery on the page as it makes the piece intresting and very aesthetically pleasing. however this use of a number of images within the piece has been well put together as the focus that is the sandal has been ade very clear and also the colour palette has been made appropriate to the brand itself.


guilherme marconi
i noticed and liked these adverts as they where stricking and i love the vast amount of imagery as it is very aesthetical and intersting to look at. however the message has not been over shadowed as the design incorporates the type and logo very well into the piece and as a whole works well at delivering a very interesting msg and sales point.

typography

i like this design alot as the itergration of images and the type works so well and is so well put to together and the images aproppriate fit with the letter forms, out of all the work i have seen this is the first type design that i think i coluld work well with and it would hopefully help develope my skills of using type and image but in a very unique manor.


http://wordsarepictures.co.uk/

it took me a few seaconds to get a first but when i did get it i thought it was wikid and i keep saying it but i really want to try and play with type and explore how it can be used and how the cntext of the type can be deliverd. i think i will try as this has and use frazes and make the design appropriate to them.




i like this piece of typography as it doesn't stick to standard bock colours which a do use quite frequently, the image combines and merges colour together well as they are not extremes of each other it's a gradulle interchange also the background isn't just black it has been eited as if it was in space. also the elongated and adjusted letters link the words together which brakes out of the standard typefaces.
i like this design however i feel i want to concentrate on type design being led by the context of the work and not by aesthetics. aesthetics will be develped and used if in appropriate ways.



i saw this work and liked it becasue it was fun energetic and really eye catching i like that the word doesn't instantly become clear but when looked at for a few extra seaconds you get it. i personaly think this style is appropriate to it's context which is t-shirts, i would probably like to buy it but i don't feel it's something i would use for other design based work as i feel it isn't simple enough.



http://www.jefffinley.org/

this kind of design i would really like to learn and find out about in the future as it can be a great way of produing type when the style is appropritate to the context as within this piece.




http://wearebuild.com/projects/fifty

i really think michael place's work is really nice as it is so simplistic but at the same time quite structured and complex as the layout is worked out very well and differently to other pieces in the set, i have found as i am progressing i'am using helvetica alot more frequently within my work which can't be a bad thing however i should try work with other typefaces as i may find one that is more appropriate to the context.



i picked out this design as the type has been influeced by the product itself but has been put across with great simplicity and hasn't been over used within the design. the  colour palette works well as the background/stock colour isn't too bright and allows the white to show up.



i feel this is a very well crafted piece and i like the fact the type has been designed so that the message has been demonstrated throught the posters layout. i defernatly would like to look into this kind of method, i will hopefully try work on this kind of work in my free time over the summer.

with this piece of typeogrpahy i love the hand drawn aspect to the piece i think the two colours work well in contrast and give the piece some integrity, making people want to look at it. although i like the design i feel that it's not something i would choose to use within my designs however i would consider producing something like this if it where deemed to be appropriate to the context.


this type is so funky i love the 3d style to it and the colours work really well the design isn't to in your face. i like this type style as the hiarachi of the text is both intersting but displays the information clearly but at the same time creates and image when brought together with the flower like illustrations. the colours used are again not solid they are blended to create the impretion of a light source which improves the aesthetic of the design but emphasises the fact that the type is 3d.


i really like the vast amounts of colour and range of type used in this pice as it is striking and creates a optical pull and it makes you want to read the piece and the type within it.



http://brain.marconi.nu/ this site has some really wikid illustration and type work done in a kind of repetive collage way which srands out really well and are very effective


http://hulahula.com.mx/
i found this mexican based design company online and i think a few pieces of there typeography is really cool, especialy the bright bold typefaces like the "bicolor" work.

I really found that the typeographical design within this poster is wikid the simple use of filled lettering, also i think a strong factor in the success of this piece is the colour choices as they make the information clear and concise and ultimatly attractive.
Google Image Result for http://www.dirtymouse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/hula.gif

hand renderd lettering

the combination of illustrated imigery and type make the pieces more aesthetically pleasing and striking.
 the hand drawn type in all the pieces interest me as it carries a font but has a organic handcrafted feel which makes the  piece feel more illustrated and personal which i like and will defernatly consider when producing type in the future.


Within these two pieces i think the combination of illustration and type to be really intersting as the styles of the letters are both relevent and descriptive of the skin and bone.
 this style of type may not conform to a specific type face but it has been designed very inivativly by using this particular style but it still reads well and is still very clear, the piece as a hole works better in my opion like this than is the type where to be produced through word processing.


again i felt this style of lettering was very interesting and pushes away from standard typefaces
. the particular piece has been made well and the type works weel within the page and is brought into the cartoon style piece very well, i particularily like that the three d type has been used as a climbing wall.


Illustration - Lettering and calligraphy illustrators, speci...

illustration

i picked out these illustrations by marconi a brazilian designer, i thought that the lines and shapes where very sharp and well manufactured the use of mainly line with some solid colour in the figure drawings make them even more interesting than the nokia advert as there is a sense of fine detail to the piece. this piece is something that i like, and would love to do however i don't feel i have the appropriate skill set to produce pieces to this quality.


i personaly don't like this particular style of illustrations, as i prefere more clear edge and clinicle styles. also the generation of the type through handrawn methods is something i would like to persue into future projects and in the seacond year
Computer Arts - June 2007


again i found an image with very similar quality to the previous designs interms of the smoothness and quality of the line, however i feel this pice has more of a hand drawn feel to it as the shape resembles what it is and the type layout is aranged in a suitable response the the shape of the state, which makes the piece more interesting due to the variety of size and scale. as there is alot of text and image the colour palette  has to be suitable but limited so not to overcomplicate the piece and i think this has been done very well.

i really like the schematic element to thi piece, the flow of the images work really well and the colour palete has been simplified to make the piece cleare wich allows this piece to be succesfull.


i really like the unique composition and perspective chosen by Liane Wilcher. i think its a fun aesthetic piece.


http://brain.marconi.nu/