In this project we were asked to select our own groups as they had decided it was better this way than the tutors randomly selecting them for us. I disagree with this as when you are put in groups with new people you learn more from each other and sometimes have more respect for you fellow group members (at least at the start anyway). Also I would like to get to know some of the others in my class a bit more and this would of allowed me to do this in a less intrusive manner.

I immediately tried to pull in some of the people I would describe as the more conscientious, hard-working designers in our class knowing (hoping) that they would pull through a bit more than my last group did. In the end it turned out to be Rick Giles, Bradley Davis Griffin Snape, Joe Watson, Nick Topping and I in the group which we tactfully named: Tulisa Contostavlos’ Film Crew.

The group dynamic was mostly successful in that I took charge and they listened… (joking of course but in a way I think they respect the fact that any team needs a leader and I thoroughly enjoy taking on this role whenever possible). Our brainstorming sessions were slow starters but once Bradley and I knuckled down to it on the second day we really started to generate some fantastic ideas that we could pitch to the tutors on the coming Friday.

The pitch was almost entirely carried out by myself which I think the tutors picked up on and tried to engage the other team members in a bid to get them to speak up a bit and work out whether it was a group idea or just Mathew Scott’s idea!

From then on the project went swimmingly and we all took on a different section to complete, essentially displaying the same theory or concept all through a different medium depending on our skill sets and personal ambitions. In the end we had 2 A1 posters to display, a laser cut wooden board and a high quality animation (After Effects).

I thought Bradley and Joe did an exceptional job under the circumstances and time restraints. The presentation of our final concept was a triumph to cap off a wonderful 2 weeks work and a great team effort. I look forward to many more group project like this – can only imagine what we could of produced with a little more time and skill.

Always with a smile and a positive attitude, Sue Platt is someone you can really bounce off as you really feel her energy inspire you every day. I believe their should be more people like Sue in education as the difference it makes to students motivation and enthusiasm for the subject is undeniable.

As an experience artist, Sue has somewhat more of a mysterious nature and we were lucky enough for Sue to bring us into her world with a short lecture about some of her work. Sue showed us a variety of photographs she had taken in her flat which showed us glimpses of her life and her spontaneous artistic manner

I think it is really important that all the tutors we are being taught and guided by each day share with us a little bit of their back story as it allows us to respect them as artists, designer and mentors. If anything a short insight into all of the tutors careers could of been more beneficial earlier on in the year.

But who is the real Sue Platt?

I have since spent a little bit of time on Sue Platt’s website looking through her online portfolio. Unfortunately I am not fine art critic but I can absolutely appreciate the variety of artwork Sue has on show and the highly skilled, professional feel you get from each piece.

The above text is what I first wrote when I mistakingly researched the work of another Manchester based artist ,Sue Platt who turns out to be a living online imposter of the real, MMU Graphic Design Tutor, Sue Platt. Interestingly it was because of this exact blog entry that the issue came to light. Quite hilariously (not that Sue probably thinks so) it has become such a problem in Sue’s career that she decided to address the entire year about her online double, who ironically is also one of Sue’s ex-students.

Now due to  the accessibility of the Internet as a primary research tool the first place you are going to look when researching Sue Platt’s work is through Google. If you do this you will most likely come across sue-platt.com which is not the real sue platt – this is where I can help.

For the first time I was able to really show the value of my Search Engine Optimisation skills and now am starting to see how the last 12 months of teaching myself Internet Marketing can really pay off. When Sue was explaining her problem and without hesitation I shot my hand up and declared how I could help Sue reach the top of Google and finally regain her online identity once and for all.

I am thoroughly looking forward to helping the real Sue Platt (almost sounds like a campaign now) achieve this goal and am quite proud to think that my skills in SEO are going to help an experienced Manchester Metropolitan University Tutor.

“Don’t try and be original, just try and be good” – Paul Rand

I though today’s lecture on Form and Concept by Liz Wheeldon-Wyatt was very enlightening and was a subject that had never really been explained to me properly before.

“Form is the outward visible appearance. It’s structure”. Form is made up a whole list of things including texture, shape, light, contrast, scale, colour and so on.

Liz Wheeldon-Wyatt showed us a number of great references that displayed peoples ability to notice, combined and use influences, concepts or even objects that are all around us to create stronger, more recognisable messages in our work. For example, the ‘Don’t Forget The Lurpak’ displays a very clever use of everyday objects all around us and is a witty, recognisably vivid message.

“The best graphic design does more than capture the attention it makes the audience linger. It prolongs the encounter, compelling the reader not only to notice but to remember”

Liz stressed how important it is to use all the influences that are around you, whether it be the objects you use everyday or a advertisement you pass on your way to work. Keeping your outlook as broad as possible will keep ideas strong.

“Graphic Design is the intersection point between art and communication”

Liz left us with 3 things to remember to do as a graphic designer:

Collect // Store // Look Around You

“Legibility is paramount”

Today we had a lecture from John Walsh (MMU Graphic Design Lecturer & my tutor) all about his personal rise to the top and how, where and why it all began. Interestingly John Walsh uses his name as written for the very first time on his birth certificate as his logo which is a clever idea and is surely the way his name was always intended to be written.

John Walsh Lecture

John Walsh started out my making a very conceptual, design based magazine and managed to sell it to a graphic design/magazine store (Magma) in the Northern Quarter of Manchester City Centre. His story was pretty inspiring as it was an immediate success and allowed him to develop more work with the monetary return. His first freelance commission came about shortly after and I guess it all rolls on from there. I wonder sometimes whether it may have been slightly easier to get your magazine in Magma back then but it is still impressive either way. I am kind of jealous of the nature in which people now come to John for work and I imagine little effort is needed to ‘find work’ – this is a sign of a really good graphic designer.

The main thing that stood out to me from John Walsh’s Lecture was when he said “With design you are working on 2 levels – the image as a whole from a distance and also how it works up close” I think in a slightly crude way this could sum up graphic design quite well. We all need to be intrigued by the image we glance at but it must also work when we stop and read, holding our gaze and interest for as long as possible. He showed us some good examples of the work he had done for Flux Magazine and it gave rise to some interesting layout ideas.

So what is Narrative?

You can define narritive in many ways but here are a few that Clinton threw at us:

• An account or story of events/experiences.
• That part of work that relates events.
• The process or technique of narrating.
• Telling a story.

These days it is often advertisements that try and involve you in a narrative and create a world for you to involve your imagination. It is all about leaving space for you to move into, letting you feel more as if you are making the decision rather than the advert. Clinton Cahill used 3 lovely words to describe it; Nudges, Hints and Gaps. This feels much more passive, like someone trying to coax a small animal into a cage with bate.

I realise now more than ever that narrative must always involve time, it is essentially about a series of events/experiences and this time line can be manipulated in order to create a more interesting narration. A good example of this would be films such as Momento or Groundhog day.

I also found the character arc’s and Joseph Cambell’s – ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’ of great interest. It systematically describes almost any film I’ve ever watched and I was very unaware of the diagrams prior to Clintons Lecture. Here are the two diagrams in question:

Character Arc – The Hero's Inner Journey

The Hero's Journey

I enjoyed the lecture very much and Clinton Cahill came up with some good suggestions about the direction of our project but I would of preferred the lecture to have been at the start of the project when we were in the idea generation stage.

Most of the animation was shot in the photo studio using a large white screen. The studio had very good lighting equipment which helped create a professional feel to the whole video.

The entire video was edited using Adobe Affer Effects, which was only the second time I had used it. I found After Effects to be one of the best video editing software I’ve used to date. Everything we wanted to do was made feasable by vasted capbilities of this software. The last 30 seconds (the Busby Berkeley style finale) was generated entirely using Adobe After Effects which admittedly probably took longer than any other part of the animation. I guess sometimes it is easier and quicker to not use computers!

If the video was put into context for use in industry then it could be a perfect fit for a YouTube or similar video sharing company advert as I feel it cleverly displays a new and interesting way of presenting an old story. “How will you tell your story?” may be a good tagline for it.

In this project you will be asked to test, explore and utilise your skills as a visual communicator to visually depict some experimental ideas. Some of the phrases /ideas and concepts given to you in the class may have realistic interpretations; others may be surreal or fantastical. We shall be asking you to communicate the given phrases and ideas through your compositional and design skills.

Response

I am really pleased with my final typeface (Sasha), based on the phrase ‘Surgical Label’. The idea formed from a mix of influences including plastic surgery(surgical) and gossip magazines(label) and by combining the colours and characteristics of these two things I was able to produce this sharp edged, controversial looking typeface.

I’ve also designed the cover for an imaginary magazine called Blink Magazine. This magazine would highlight the weeks most prominent news articles and disect them into fact, fiction and down right hilarious. Queue bullshit man.

Generalists will save the world, not specialists

I was really inspired by our Guest Lecturer, Brendan Dawes today. He was full of enthusiasm for great design and held a true desire to create new, exciting and interesting things. I say ‘things’ because he seemed to have done it all, from flash design for a BBC website to a message box that displayed old texts to and from his wife.

His ability to convey his ideas was exceptional and I think everyone in the room felt his excitement for it, not to mention his comical, Karl-Pilkington-esque wit that regularly humoured the audience.

The most prominent little chunk of information he threw at me was that when it comes to idea generation, he doesn’ t care about reality. It’s perfect, it’s how every great designer should think and will help push the boundaries of art and design.



Brendan exaplined how “Data is always the same – it’s what we do with it as designers that makes the difference”

In fact I could take a whole host of quotes from his lecture that would be useful to any young designer, including “People discovering things themselves is so much more impressive and rewarding” – again so true and so simple, but these little nuggets of experience is what helps young designer like us create better design work.

I also learned not to be afraid of experimenting and putting your work out there. You never know who might stumble across it!

Finally, I would like to draw attention to his 3D printing machine (which for ages I assumed was just a printer that printed things in blue and red).

It doesn’t just do that – it does a whole lot more and could really be the object that defines the digital age we are about to commence in. Soon everyone across the world will be able to send products digitally and print them out just like a printer – but this time they are 3D objects that can be used for functional purposes – amazing! Essentially it’s like the perfect alternative to a transportation device just without the star trek coolness…

But what will this mean for our economy if people can simply print out a new plate when needed, or a new spoon or table? How will be buy and sell products to each other? Will it all be digital and what does this mean for security and duplication? So many massive questions to ponder on after a thoroughly well rounded, interesting presentation. Thanks Brendan.

Problem – Analysis – Research – Initial Ideas – Development – Experimentation – Prototype