idiotbred

Twelve Northern Guides

2009-03-31T17:47:00.002+01:00

Craig Oldham of Manchesters 'The Chase' (www.thechase.co.uk) and his now infamous '12 in 12' presentation & handout have gained alot of notoriety amidst industry professionals, education faculty and students alike. Having finally soaked it all up around a week ago, whilst being entertained by his casually honest, yet descriptive writing style, I found myself worrying less about my creative capabilities and instead, pondering over my social networking skills.

This was only given more solidity when Ady Bibby, Creative Director of True North (www.thisistruenorth.co.uk) came to present to 2nd & 3rd year graphics students at our college. Ady, having been a former student there, gave a presentation which was extremely insightful; and in doing so, clarified the points associated with Craigs views on beginning a career in Graphic Design.

Whilst both companies (Ady having been a former Chase employee himself) are at the peak of responsibility for creativity in the north of England, removing the cliche that London is the place to be as a young up-and-coming Designer, they both retain a modesty and sincerity that seems to be a calming voice of reason to me.

I am aware that i am still to find my true strengths within the next year, but knowing that honing an understanding and ability to work creatively as a team member, is just as important as technical ability, brings a little comfort to the woes of facing unemployment regardless of the standard of my degree, It's time to disregard my nights locked in a room working towards a first, and focus more of my time into scouring design week to know who is who and what they're working on!

The Energy of Art

2009-03-30T13:53:00.001+01:00

A while back I ventured over to Liverpool to the F.A.C.T facility, where Factory Records legend, Peter Saville, had launched a collaborative exhibition with Andy McCluskey (of OMD) & Hari Haralambous, one of the most successful 'video artists' of today. This exhibit highlights the aforementioned shift in the way in which galleries handle the inception of technological art installations.

It would be easy to venture into the space, presuming that the artifacts, (a series of ambient digital films, fragmented audio broadcasts and most relevantly; electronic boards, fields and elements which required human interaction to work) each individual aspects of the installation, were separate standalone works of art.

It was when you took a step back, that the realisation washed over you, it wasn't as simple as that, For the most part, the 'energy suite' required the collaborative interaction of more than one person, using the electrical fields within our combined bodies, to power, direct or activate the reactions in the physical elements; for example, I spent a good ten minutes sharing a grip on a wooden steering wheel, tapping different parts of my girlfriends arm, which generated different synthesized tones; we had become the instrument, and as such, were the ones being watched by people moving through the gallery.

It became even more apparent when you entered the fragmented orchestra installation, a maze of speakers hung by chains from the ceiling, each of them rotating freely and occasionally spitting out radio static in an ever shifting manner, It was only when you made out other figures weaving between the chains from the darkness of the room, that the space unveiled it's true purpose.

The most important piece for me though, was in the projected space downstairs, quite simply a darkened room sat with a 50ft projection of fluxuating television static, you were handed large white framed glasses as you entered the space and whilst no-one seemed to manage more than around ten minutes in there, the purpose came in seeing the light bouncing off those sitting in the reclined sofa in the centre of the room, offering a more than poignant commmentary on the vegetation of contemporary society living their lives through their television sets.

Technoledgements!

2009-03-29T02:24:00.002+01:00

Whilst my previous entry (Is it a warning?) may have touched on the subject of technology within art, I feel I need to upload something more accurate than a fear stricken SOS call from the depths of my paranoia.

I could go into a lengthy essay about the relevance of digital reproduction through tools such as adobe's software packages, or the painterly accuracy of wacoms hardware, but as these things are all commonplace nowadays, it almost seems strange that someone would still purchase a paintbrush.

Yet I find myself faltering between the ease of use, publication and production of digital media, and the romance, skill and effort that goes into letterpress, hand rendered illustrations or artworks and the dying use of celluloid for capturing film.

I've said before, I'm a fan of rehashing the feel and look of that which has gone by, but the gaps between what we consider 'retro' or as the coined phrase would have it 'lo-fi'.

The fact that we have lo-fi, as a major movement within a digital world should speak volumes about the need for technique and craftsmanship without the aid of technology.

Yet within digital arts there are new vehicles which turn technology and art into an immersive experience, for the past number of years, the advancements in computer graphics alone has been astonishing, and it's now commonplace to see a games console beside the television in any household.

But these machines, and their 'graphics engines' are being utilised for something more than just interactive gaming, as Jonathan Leggett highlighted in Dazed (ref; vol.2 issue 70).

Leggett highlights the works of Mavros' Nodes a 'modder' who uses game engines as a foundation with which to create environments out of the structures and mapping systems used in mainstream computer games such as half-life.

Removing the gameplay element and turning these virtual environments that gestate and manipulate in flux and form as you move within them and interact with their aura as such. Some of these creations are truly bizarre, whilst some are completely engaging sensory experiences (check out moddb.com for examples)

It makes me wonder if we will reach a point where digital art no longer needs a gallery or space with which to exhibit within, rather creating an architectural or sculptural digital form which *is* as much the gallery, as it is the artwork

Is it a warning?

2009-03-27T02:21:00.001Z

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, my notions on the suspicious foundations to the broadcast imagery we soak up in the dim blue light of our television sets isn't one of absolute fondness, I will admit to something seen as inspiration blasphemy by the tutors at my previous college... I don't own a television!

I know, it seems bizarre doesn't it? And this is something that really shouldn't be an issue, yet in my lack of ownership, I appear to have made a social, even political choice regarding the delivery of information (realistically, I just don't find enough on worth watching that would equate to me spending that much money just because it's 'normal')

It shouldn't be shocking to hear that someone doesn't own a television, Yet any time I have informed anyone of this in the past, the look of fear on their face castrates me as a human and puts me in the ditch with whatever was disposed of in area 51.

My tutors argument was that I could have no understanding, no perception, no grasp upon advertising without a television set; my defense was that not owning a television ensured that my room was the one place in the world I could actually *escape* advertising for a moment of solemnity.

Now, Obviously I use the internet, I can filter what I see and when, and this 'control' is what is important to me, I don't mean to offer sanctimonious critique upon others, but I can't think of anything less appealing to me, than to base my weekly timetable around the tv guide.

However, I don't underestimate the importance of CRT & LCD burning into our retinas when necessary, unfortunately, like all technology, the initial purpose is diluted and twisted in flux and form as it ages. Technology and those which interact, constantly demand upgrades, yearn for something which is smaller, better, faster, stronger, cheaper or more aesthetically pleasing.

I'm not going to get into another long winded 'rant' on product lust and the contemporary desire to constantly have something just a smidgen better than what you caught a glimpse of through your neighbours window last saturday as you watered the lawn.

I am however becoming increasingly worried about the shift in context of that which is being broadcast. In recent years, there has been an insurgence of motion pictures which feature an entertaining 90 minute replication of the end of the world, be it through natural disaster, infection or nuclear war.

The issue is, when these movies are reviewed on television, or in printed media, they are championed for their social commentary, the issues they highlight within society today, and this contextual referencing; whilst accurate, is terrifying.

When advancements in digital media, CGI animation and effects leads onto apocalyptic fantasy which makes millions selling to those which for the most part still don't see fit to act in accordance against the future we are facing, Should we be worried that in the face of danger we won't rally together and unite as one race... rather watch in disbelief as we gorge on popcorn?

Okay, a little exaggerated with the popcorn, but the point still stands, the line between fiction and reality is constantly blurred in the minds of society, and especially youth, who are now raised on a steady diet of armageddon focused movies and video games.

Is there a point where our ability as artists, to create something so beautifully realistic and convincing, becomes impossible to decipher as fiction from fact?

A lesson in communication...

2009-03-25T00:32:00.004Z

I've always been a fan of 'treating' myself to something nice any time I come into money, Of late I feel that I've not treated myself enough, so as a cure, I decided to reminisce a little regarding a previous present I bought myself.

Truth be told, Having read 'The Spectacle of The Other' and the afforementioned 'Heroes and Villains' segment within, I hoped to use said present to find further information on the representation of the african-american within advertising. (as the present contains a hefty section on activism; in particular, dealing with such representation during the socio-political changes in 1960's America and the demeaning/stereotypical image of black america prior to this shift)

However, whilst scouring through Jan Nederveen Pieterse writings on representations of otherness (ref; white on black, images of africa and blacks in western popular culture) I remembered something that this present contained, that brought me on somewhat of an adventure whilst reading.

At this point I feel I should both inform you of, and highly recommend you buy yourself this present, as it is a fantasticly entertaining and insightful resource which I somehow overlook from time to time during research.

Design Writing Research: Writing On Graphic Design (by Ellen Lupton & Abbot Miller)

This book takes you on a journey through design in a beautifully published book, falling apart through derridas deconstruction and bending, flexing and reforming through laws of type, modern hieroglyphics and a seriously indepth collection of mini-essays transcending the history of graphic design in America 1829-1993.

Now that the shamless promotion is out of the way, I'll get to the point. We were briefed recently on a brief which requires us to come up with a new form of communication or a new way of communicating something interesting, it was this which led me back to this book and one of the articles within.

Lupton & Miller take you on a typographic journey through the evolution of written language, as each new revelation is unveiled regarding the phases our written language originated from, the content changes size, shape, case and constantly shifts in form.

The point of this bizarrely lucid writing style has a strength to it that visually communicates something with as much power and emphasis as an image, yet remains as body copy throughout. This essay (Period Styles - A Punctuated History) has something magical about it, not only in the method in which it explains, but the content mentioned as it does so.

I for one did not know that our 'punctuation' stems from a time when few but the rich could read nor write, and those talented enough to do so were appointed as scribes to royalty, it was in the deliverance of these documents that . - ' figures would dictate the tone in which the words should be spoken

. commanding a low-tone

- commanding a mid-tone

' commanding a high-tone

Something we take for granted nowadays, especially in a time where the degradation of written language is at an all time high, with the allowance of urban-slang and 'txtspk' in some schools across the country, I personally see this as a devolution of language, rather than an inclusion of advancement in communication.

So when I am approaching the communication brief, it is already, and will be important to me to consider these origins, the importance of tone, delivery, punctuation and silence in conversation, written or spoken, is one which gives us our voice, or means of conveying emotion and personality.

Yet here we are with repetitive strain injury in our hands due to 'talking' with our fingertips for the majority of our day, rather than with our vocal chords.

Feranimal

2009-03-23T23:43:00.001Z

Gilles Deleuze and Pierre-Félix Guattari developed the notion of 'becoming animal' whilst the connotations of feral upbringing and psychiatric/sociopathic degradation may explain the animalistic traits of the human psyche surfacing, the concept of becoming animal has been one which has been adopted and adhered to by occultists and their extremist philosophy.

But where does this lead us, It's hard not to feed the science vs. religion fire within the realisation that our 'instincts' are animalistic and carnal, desire in itself is something that is bred from, or as a result of passions.

Whilst reading some of Gilles Deleuze' writing online, This became something of a fixation to me, in trying to uncover the role of nature within art, i must admit, I was led to his work by a friend of mine who noticed I had been reading Franz Kafka and the article in question ('the body, the meat and the spirit:becoming animal' by Gilles Deleuze) refers to Das Schwert "the sword" from The Diaries of Franz Kafka.

I was perplexed by the writing, and it led me to thinking about our reactions, emotional and physical; and the animalistic traits of each.

We are on the whole, an emotional race, whilst for the most part, purely reactant & occasionally volatile, but what is it about our nature that causes these reactions? As I have mentioned in an earlier post the cost of 24/7 culture and constant streams of media and advertising available at our fingertips, has led to dysfunctions and syndromes within our society which can only be as a result of the urgency and immediacy with which we demand information.

This could be our evolution, a transcendence of sorts, adaptation into what we are to become, or it could be subliminal poison; (I am aware at this point, my negative and cynical opinions of advertising may hinder my ability to persue a career in such a field, but truth be told, I've little interest in advertising, apart from on a psychological level. Colour psychology and appeal to demographics via style, content and copy are more interesting to me than actually creating the advertisement itself) However, We still react to these things in animalistic manners, albeit more docile.

So what is it about media which causes us to react with anger, lust, hunger or other instinctual behaviors? Could it be that the advertising industry have such a grasp on the human mind that we can have strings pulled and cut in accordance with what best suits a product, or is our expectation of the subliminal and that between the lines, causing us to look past the sinister tactics that are being broadcast to us on a daily basis?

If we learnt to advertise through propaganda, were taught to understand through curriculum & study by man-made ever shifting 'facts', conditioned by upbringings and social acceptability then we are all expected to react in the same way, It just leaves me wondering that if we were brought up without any of these constructs, as a 'feral' being, would we be as inhumane as we're led to believe? Or would we infact be less corrupt than we're becoming.

Arrr Matey!

2009-03-21T23:42:00.001Z

The RSA website has a fascinating lecture on the virtues of piracy by former pirate radio dj Matt Mason, having watched this in college, I found myself going back time after time and rewatching the lecture, along with the other fantastic lectures available on thersa.org.

The relevance of Masons words are shockingly accurate, highlighting the positive benefits of piracy in the digital age, whilst we are bombarded with ridiculously patronising advertisements in our movie theatres and dvd players about piracy being a crime and how watching a single dvd you got for cheap off some bloke in the pub makes you worse than the krays.

Mason illuminates, with both wit and intellect, the fact that without piracy we'd lack in progression, without the likes of the napster fiasco around 5 years ago now, we'd never have ended up with an indisposable resource like apples itunes & itunes store.

The change in the record industry alone due to the demands of internet downloading are catastrophic, we have 'download charts' now and whilst some may worry about the demise of the actual, due to the rise in the virtual, it actually breeds new opportunity in design.

Graphic designers are through this, given the opportunity to make more lavish, luxurious and appealing packaging/printed media for containing cd/dvd products, take a stroll around your local hmv and just look at how many cd cases are now beautifully printed and multi-folded works of standalone art (have a browse for sigur ros cd's and you'll see what I mean)

So I have to ask, Without the ability to download single tracks, movies or other media, would we still be purchasing them over the counter as fervently as we once were?

To answer this, I'll refer to the old soft drinks campaign from years back 'image is nothing, thirst is everything', the relevance of that campaign is dead, despite the recession, despite our pocket change becoming equivalent to gold nuggets to us all during current economic times, I believe that now, Image is everything, Thirst is mandatory.

In 'other' words..

2009-03-19T23:41:00.002Z

Having studied the 'heroes and villains' reading (The Spectacle Of The Other, Bathes), It raised a very important message about the power of words, both within literal and subliminal meaning. Barthes' argument that 'the caption selects out one of the many possible meanings from an image, and anchors it with words. The 'meaning' of the photograph, then, does not lie exclusively in the image, but n the conjunction of image and text.'

The relevance of this is astounding, not only as a revelation to the power of typography and body copy within the interpretation of image, but to control of mass thought via the anchored connotations within public media.

If you were to visit an art gallery, and instead of finding a captivating piece which stopped you in your tracks and left you staring, seeking meaning, defragmenting the image and it's reasoning, you found the same image, with type printed ontop of it explaining every aspect of it's meaning, would you then be able to think of it as anything else?

It could be easy to argue that you would take another step back, considering the relevance of the type to the image, whether it was an honest or an ironic sentiment, but the meaning of the art would be shifted again.

Yet in media publications, these words are taken as gospel, tabloid and gossip press thrive upon their pun-riddled body copy as much as they do their latest image of a celebrity flashing underwear as they exit a limo.

I do not consider myself above anyone, nor do I feel that an understanding of the power behind such words makes me less succeptable to their direction, but with the accessibility and freedom of webzines and relatively cheap publication costs nowadays, surely anyone has the power now, to influence the opinions of those which thrive upon the latest hot topic to discuss during a coffee break?

Give a dog a bone...

2009-03-18T15:45:00.007Z

I'm not quite sure how this happened, but with the issue of a new stationary brief, I somehow wound up with another dog related subject (which has me questioning how many members of the curriculum actually compete regularly in Crufts). I was to come up with a brand identity & stationary package for a dog groomer, now, like every 'designer' the initial ideas that come to you are usually the most obvious, and easily disposed of.

Mine.. mine were just verging on bizarre. Take for example the fact that in the first few days of this brief I was referring back to demographic research & dog related product lines from the dogood campaign. (In archive under 'do a little good') Somewhere between that logical step, and coming up with my concept, I found myself sitting in the middle of sketches of yorkshire terriers with combs as 'moustaches', electric shavers with dogs tails, kennels with grooming brushes coming out of them, and god forbid, a large soapy ball of something with a dogs face in the middle of it.

We've always been taught to put everything down on paper, so I had, and in shame I wanted nothing more than to set light to it and revel in the glorious flames of ensuring that no-one would ever see such hideous ideas. Anyone can suffer from creative block, at any time, and it can be extremely stressful and downright irritating at the best of times, in this instance however, it was this inability to do as I was telling myself, that bore the concept.

Disobedience; In disobedience there is a refusal to adhere to what is expected. This revelation made me realise that I was taking 'grooming' far too literally, and that instead of focusing on showdogs, I should focus on behavioral grooming, Creating a company which dealt with disobedience or undomesticated dogs in a friendly yet effective manner. Woof, became this fictitious company and in their manifesto set out to train and 'condition' dogs without punishment & reward schemes, but through using revolutionary 'clicker training'

So the idea was a serious one, but the demographic was still the same, pet-lovers, and more important 'dog people' (not really sure why we're supposed to have preference over cats and dogs, I like both of them, not a fan of sheep though, creepy little buggers) I had to appeal to my market on a friendly and humorous level, whilst still conveying the ethos behind the company.

This evolved into a range of stationary based on aspects of the dogs features, using the 'dog eared' pages, tongue envelope, and verbal puns such as the 'woof compliments' slip.

The business card, as the first point of contact for most people, was an elasticated pull out of a dog that constantly snapped back inside the card, mimicking the dogs disobedience in doing what the owner is asking of it. (when the card is brought to Woof, the corner is cut off, freeing the elastic and removing the dog, which effectively highlights their ability to fix the problem.)

Inspired..

2009-03-17T23:40:00.001Z

Whilst my previous comments regarding 4designers in London remain intact, I've found myself pondering further upon one thing said, almost in passing, by Frances Jackson, which since leaving London has been resonating within my ears. Especially regarding the critical thinking we're expected to adhere to as honours students.

Frances commented on her inspiration and motivations, informing us that she personally doesn't take influence or notion from the works of other noted designers/artists around her, rather taking inspiration from where it appears naturally.

Despite my opinion of her work ethics, and the quality produced by herself and her partners, Her mentioning of this has really struck a chord within me.

We're expected to draw upon influence, and seek out new forms of reference, And the curriculum (which is essentially our canon of learning anyway) has ways and means set in place for which we can acheive that, however, I don't consider myself an art historian, whilst others in my class may be well read, or have astonishing knowledge of the movements within art over the years, I personally do not.

I can appreciate the work of others, and within both the art world, and the graphics industry, there are things which appeal to me, and things which anger me. But if I am completely honest, I don't feel that I take influence from the great designers of our time, or the revered artists of their time.

A photographer recently mentioned in one of her blog entrys, about work ethos, and the importance of knowing where your work comes from, emotional or practical response.

Having read this entry, and applied the thinking to myself, I find it hard not to believe myself to be an 'emotional designer', not because I find attachment or moral code driving my motivation, but because every piece of work I do, I feel has to have reason, has to have it's own life.

I'm not against paying homage, I'm all for retroscopic vision and recurrent trends, it makes the understanding of appeal easier to translate. I do however, feel that I'd much rather follow my heart and head when creating work, rather than working towards the style of those which I admire.

War of the Roses II

2009-03-16T00:43:00.005Z

As a follow on from the sticker campaign, and to better spread the awareness of the new words to be entering the OED this year, we thought about ways of accessing the publics vocabulary. Firstly disposing of the obvious vocabulary based options, such as Balderdash & Piffle, QI and Countdown, and instead focusing on the infectious shows which in turn cause viewers to pick up slogans, or parody those within.

Whilst I personally disregard big brother as having much worth (okay, the first show was a valid experiment into social interaction and the effects of 'cabin fever', but since then it's just been a hideous display of the stereotypes of society being thrust together for the sake of entertainment; albeit in watching their degradation into something vaguely resembling cretinous) I couldn't challenge it's worth as the most effective vehicle to carry the concept.

Essentially, we would put forth the selection of new words (bahookie, aerobicised, crunk & celebutante) in the style of a 'task' in which a housemate would have to use the words and subliminally influence the other housemates, rewarding his triumphs by adding money to their weekly food budget each time a word was used by someone other than himself.

In theory, the conversations, situations & frustrations that would arise from the misunderstandings and misconceptions of these words would lead to memorable moments within the show; which in turn would become quotable phrases by the general public, thus spreading awareness and usage as the brief requires.

Red Carpet Branding

2009-03-15T23:39:00.001Z

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, The sweeping fad for use of Helvetica in branding a number of years back, was one which gave companies an identity of simplicity, accessibility and cleanliness.

So if the subliminal power of branding is so effective, is it really any wonder that the brand itself becomes a celebrity?

Having read the 'first things first' manifesto, and further reading on it's effectiveness within the 'obey the giant' campaign, it was clear that we, as a people, crave establishment, identity that can be purchased that says as much about our consumer choices, as it does about our socio-political status.

Whilst the current 'buy-in' may be marketed via simplistic visuals and bespoke, pseudo-handmade finishes, this cult of the brand has become more of an inspiration within the art world. Paying homage to collaborative works between Man Ray and Duchamp.

One of the latest effective motions within this 'branderlust' fixation is Francesco Vezzoli (ref: dazed 70) his collaborative works with seminal movie director Roman Polanski, casting a-listers Natalie Portman & Michelle Williams, features a product, A bottle of perfume entitled 'greed' marketed as a luxurious fragrance.

But the product doesn't exist, there is no perfume, there is no product, the marketing itself has become the art.

With an accompanying media campaign (which I personally feel has been put together with the amount of refinement I wasn't even proud of as a 1st year HND student) and a short film acting as a viral accomplice to the campaign, It could be forgiven for mistaking this product as the next 'must have' item for the prada lapping elite.

Nevertheless, This highlights something very important within contemporary society. If we're disposing of the canon, and opening our minds to the relevance of works such as those of the hirsts and banksys of this world, Do we need a shift from the traditionalist ways of gallery openings and high-culture gatherings?

In a world where even our advertising is shifting from printed press, into viral, interactive and motion-based media (just take a trip into any london/new york tube station and see how all the posterboards are being replaced with lcd flatscreens) has art lost touch with the masses through the accessibility of the internet and downloadable media?

The romance of a gallery will always be there, But now it feels like the spaces, regardless of the content, are museum. Preservatives of that within, rather than something to relish in themselves.

We have been taught to crave instant results, we have come to expect accessibility on-the-spot, and sure, we have bred new dysfunctions in impatience and mental disorders, with our new found acceptances of bi-polar conditions and ADD/ADHD, But this is evolution right?

We're changing, As a result of the world we have built for ourselves, The product has become the idol, The craving has become the motivation, Even the self professed non-materialistic people, try their hardest to purchase the sleekest new look in minimal chic.

War of the Roses I

2009-03-14T00:28:00.007Z

The Roses Advertising Awards is one of the more notorious design competitions in the UK, It offers a choice of briefs, set by some of the countries most elite design studios, offering prizes with both financial and professional gain, placement schemes and even chances to have your work on display at some of the countries leading design museums. So as you can expect, it was rather daunting going in for this knowing the competition would be of such a high calibre.

Having chosen to tackle the Oxford English Dictionary - New Words brief, around a fortnight was spent alone buried amidst spider diagrams and sketchbooks, playing every meaning of every new word on the current list off against one another; then furthermore the associations with each of those words. After my key finding in the Marks & Spencers campaign (in archive under 'Cheap Luxury') research was to play an important part in conceptualising for this brief.

So the decision was made, two separate solutions chosen and both to be produced and submitted as a joint/complimentary campaign. The first was 'ambience' a series of stickers showing some of the new words, which would be placed in public restrooms, seating areas, gymnasiums & bars (wherever each phrase was relevant). The chosen words were 'Celebutante' - meaning 'new celebrity', 'Bahookie' - meaning 'backside', 'Aerobicised' - meaning 'toned' & 'Crunk' - meaning 'Crazy Drunk'.

With the stickers produced and put into their environments, The theory was in the response of curiousity due to repeated exposure, In essence, By subliminally flooding the memory with continuous exposure to these stickers in public places, You would eventually question their meaning, taking a closer look and noticing the URL which directs you to the OED's website, and the explanation/meaning of these 'new words'

2 Designers (of worth anyway)

2009-03-13T23:38:00.003Z

Having returned from the 4Designers conference in London, I was a little bemused by some of the speakers, scrap that, I can completely dismiss two of them altogether.

Shaugnessy was the one with the most promise, His presentation was the one I was looking forward too most, But the second he took the stage, My senses were dulled completely.. Yes, This man may have produced some work that has been respected and revered by other design greats, but my god are his inter-personal skills dire.

I don't want to be too critical, His presentation contained alot of information, but it was alot of the same information, repeated cyclically in five to ten minute intervals, And for someone held in such high position in the world of design, it was honestly one of the least aesthetically pleasing things I have ever seen.. well, asides from the european study tours logo, but that was just a gut wrenching combination of typographic faux-pas and clashing neon colour.

On the other hand, Frances Jacksons' presentation was actually enjoyable, She addressed the room well and had a more commanding presence amidst the room but her work was just.. well, dire to be honest. For someone who seemed to be aggressively ecological about her approach to design, the majority of her work contained contradictory media.

Having motioned towards a more sustainable, less wastage design ethos myself of late, I found her rationale behind one of her most 'egolocially sound' solutions astonishing, lest we not mention the use of excessive printed media and colour schemes which are amongst the hardest to de-ink thus resulting in more landfill pollution and chemical disposal.

Now, The saving grace...

Martin Grothmaak was the first person to take centre stage, and nervously so, but for someone staring into the blinding spotlight above a room full of people waiting to be told trade secrets and leave the room full of inspiration and passion, His nerves and concerns about his english second language were easily dismissed as he fluidly wandered through a presentation of some of the most refined and delicate design work I have ever seen.

His stage presence became altogether cool and as more of his work came up on screen I just found myself salivating over the tiniest treatments he, and his partners had applied to mainly typographic based work, making them luxurious and sophisticated works of art in themselves.

As Grothmaak led, and the other two aforementioned designers dragged it into a downward spiral from therein, I wasn't looking forward to Andrew Shoben's presentation, and perhaps thats what made it so special...

Honestly, Asides from the likes of Sir Ken Robinson and those which have graced the theatres of the RSA, no-one has ever captivated me so much in a lecture, From the end of Shobens first paragraph I was in absolute adoration of the man, I actually found myself wishing he'd just been on stage the whole time, well.. maybe with a Grothmaak sized interval.

Whilst Shoben isn't technically a 'graphic designer' more of an installation and 'interactive' artist, his words, his work and his attitude just flooded off the stage and washed over everyone in the room, I honestly can't convey the feeling, But if you were to imagine someone with as much passion, wit and talent as you'd like to have, making an entire theatre full of young, pretentious 'design elite' minds laugh and gasp and leave smiling and dying to do work with some 'worth' you'd almost be close.

I am cynical, I was born that way, but this time.. I couldn't find anything negative to say, I am impressed, I have been since and greyworld has now made it to my daily bookmarks list, eagerly awaiting my next fix of Shobens witty, yet wise words.

What does it even mean?!

2009-03-12T23:35:00.006Z

'idiotbred', as I'm sure you've figured out by now, is the moniker under which I do the majority of my design work; the freelance work anyway, college work is just plain old Dave Kennedy due to whatever atrocious ownership laws are in place during our educational contract.

Why idiotbred?

Well.. Have you ever been walking around your town, desperate to do something and everyone else seems to be going about their daily mission of getting in your way at every opportunity? Or the sheer obnoxiousness and arrogance of the general public just seems to be attracted to you as if you're some attention magnet for the socially inept?

Thats how idiotbred was born, initially starting as a joke between a friend and I, to discreetly refer to anyone who, to the best of our knowledge, was the spawn of a long line of morons. Harsh isn't it! It became a bit of a coffee shop catchphrase to us and over time, an identity.

Green with economy...

2009-03-11T23:37:00.002Z

Within design, Fashion is everything, Trends perpetuate the motion of creativity within society. A few years ago Helvetica swept the nation, With hundreds of companys seeking modernisation and rebranding, Helvetica became the new black and every reputable (read; ruthless multinational) company wore it with pride, persuing an image of simplicity and accessibility through the subliminality of branding.

Nowadays, it's a different matter, with 'state of the nation' television pushing the thought processes of the masses into exhausting concern regarding what we eat, where we eat it, and the ethics behind it's production. The realisation that we're mere parasites destroying a world that has kept us alive for longer than we can remember has become the new badge of virtue for companies (which for the most part are lacking in just that)

However, Due to this demand for ethical produce and sustainable resources, Numerous creative companies are springing up across the globe, noteable, 57 design in Brisbane, who have been at the forefront of the sustainable design movement, both in their dramatic thesis and the creation and publication of one of the most downloaded 'widgets' of all time 'the sustainable graphic design widget'

This widget informs the ethical minded designers (or those with the ability to sell pre-packaged morals to companies who have questionable ones already) of the causes and concerns of print and press methods used everyday, addressing issues with de-inking, pollution and chemical disposal and suggesting sustainable alternatives in bonding agents, dying pigments and materials.

But this is the issue, While there are ethical options out there, Some companies see portrayal of the image as more viable than an actual transition to a more ecologically sound option.

McDonalds, A company that has forever been in question regarding the ethics and morals expected from society in present day, combated the needs in past years, by launching an 'angus' line, and selling 'fresh fruit' and 'healthier choice' products, Giving the consumer the option to eat healthy, and more importantly, giving them the image of an ethically aware company.

This time round, They've done it again, Playing up to the image of sustainability, Without actually making the commitment, The new packaging line looks letterpressed, it looks like it has the texture of recycled materials, and it appears to be ethically sound and as morally savvy as the likes of Apples packaging and product lines.

Yet, it still uses the same materials, the same processes and the same medium as before, So this raises the question... Do we actually care? Is something appearing to be ethical enough for us to buy into.

Apparently so, On the whole, We won't make a difference, But we will purchase things that tell onlookers that we have, Portraying an image of ethics is whats important to us, And if we can pay a few pence extra for something that makes us appear to be wholesome and ethically sound, By god will we do it.

12 x 35 = Expense

2009-03-10T22:24:00.005Z

One of the requirements of second year of study at art college, is participation in 'live' and competition briefs, The first of which we encountered was the National Business Calendar Awards, as this was my second large brief, and the outcome for the conceptual book brief had come together so well, I decided that there was no sense in restricting myself with regards the outcome. Instead, I would go as over the top, outrageous and just plain crazy as I could.

Scale! Scale is everything, What I hate about 'business calendars' is their measly little to-do lists, the little clusters of post it sized, date riddled paper gradually fraying and becoming no use apart from as emergency coasters throughout the space of a year. The lack of impact alone in these creations is even less engaging than the executive toys you find in bargain bins and argos catalogues, magical stainless steel balls on wires, test tube birds that peck infinitely and stress balls shaped like a malformed breast.

I couldn't bring myself to make something which would get lost amidst a clutter of digestive crumbs and crumpled faxes, I had to do something that would become the focus of the entire room, something interactive which encouraged use and utilised the calendar structure as an image first, and a calendar second.. It was in this that I rediscovered a little tool I was fond of some years back when it came to creating aerosol free graffiti.. The Rasturbator!

Homokaasu.org's now cult tool allows you to transform even the smallest of images, into an infinitely scaleable collection of vector dots, similar to the halftone look of Lichtensteins seminal pop art imagery, printing each segment out on individual pages from any old domestic printer, and with a little putting together, creating epic visual statements only restricted by patience and imagination.

So this was it, I was going to effectively turn an entire wall of an office space into an ever-changing work of art. Using stock photography and chroma colour theory together to find images with colours best suited to the time of year. The calender would be 7 individual booklets across, by 5 booklets down, and would be hung on a wall as a grid system, each booklet pinning to the next. Over the space of a year, the user would have the ability to either keep a 'wallpaper' per month by tearing off perforated tabs, or use the cascading reveal style by tearing off a whole page a day, unveiling a new image over the space of a month.

Artography?

2009-03-09T23:37:00.002Z

Surely, The difference between documentary photography, and artistic photography, lies purely in the composition? An appropriation of another work, photographed in such a way that it abstracts the image, would essentially become a valid work of art in itself, no?

That abstraction, is a result of another persons vision, and whilst the subject matter of the image is the same, another persons vision on the flux, form or meaning of the original has as much validity as the original. Is art not essentially defined by the response to the work anyway?

Do a little good...

2009-03-08T21:55:00.004Z

Another of the enclosed works within Co-Respondence, was a task set to market & brand a product, which would be given out randomly, I was unfortunate enough to receive dog food, and not just any old product at that, but dog food for the contemporary consumer market; those which are image concious, ethically sound & into purchaseable identity.. you literally are what you eat.

I began thinking about the simplicity behind the design of contemporary brands, the likes of innocent & apples current brand identity (ref; new greener macbook tv campaign/packaging ethos) portray an image of honesty, simplicity and even naivety through their almost childlike logotypes and packaging design. This 'innocence' gives them a personal feel in a multi-national world, and thus, a step ahead of more traditional brands which are seen as mass produced and unfavourable.

So the identity had to be minima, it needed to be fun, and whilst the product itself needed to appeal to the nature of the dog lover, the imagery had to appeal to those who define their social status through what they purchase. In disposing of comedic initial concepts such as 'barkleys' and 'skinny bitch', I went with 'dogood; which just came about from scribbling 'dog food' on a scrap of paper when my head was at melting point.

The brand image instantly came together, it was to become a dog food which was as beneficial for the pet, as it was for the owner, and offered a humorous delivery in the fact that it didn't take itself too seriously. Whilst walking past a local pound shop, the g in 'bargain' just jumped out at me.. I'm sure you'll know of the 'gnu' logo with it's horned accents (featured in The Art Of Looking Sideways, Phaidon Publishing).

This became my inspiration, the swooshing descender of the g (later appropriately discovered to be baskerville.. spooky) looked just like a dogs tail curling, and with a little tweaking, the accent on the g was perfect as a lop-ear. The plan was set into action from there in, The g would act as a standalong mascot for the company, whilst the branding & packaging would be clean and simple.

Sugar, Spice & Puppy Dogs Tails

2009-03-07T23:37:00.002Z

From months before we’re born we’re thrust into a pathway of social conditioning, Girls will be wrapped, nurtured and comforted in soft shades of pink, whilst boys will wake, roll and sleep in pastel blues, From this moment on our definitions of sexuality are formed, Puppy dogs tails & All things nice, these pathways are formed, laid and concreted into position and leading the way for panic stricken parents to follow via ‘how to..’ pamphlets and advice for scared ‘new parents’ from the internet.

But how much of this actually matters, sexual androgyny is commonplace nowadays, from the innocence of tomboys to the social acceptance of metrosexuality in recent years. If the guides for parenting are really as potent as we’re led to believe, Surely raising little boy pink and little girl blue will be just as effective as the hormones which come into play in our teenage years?

I know that I personally, would take offence to be considered a ‘lad’ purely due to what my opinions are of said tag, formed through my own experience of those who chose to tag themselves as the same; violent, inconsiderate, sanctimonious, arrogant.. I’m well aware of the misconceived notions within my definition, But if we are the products of the lives we’ve led prior to self-definition, I’m standing ground.

However, I still think that regardless of opinion formed through experience, of the fact that I’d revel in comments on my ‘feminine side’ rather than my masculine, that I am male, legally, sexually, physically..

I agree that with aid of surgery & medication, you are free to ‘live your life as…’ whichever sex you choose, and the freewill within our own sexual agendas is one of the most perplexing and influencial in personal decision making.

So, are we not defined by our own person, by our actions and decisions? Rather than foundations of genetics and documentation… Ideally, But acceptance of such notions may always be looped by the political and social tolerances of theological rights and legal wrongs.

Downside Up

2009-03-06T23:36:00.002Z

One of the 'quickfire' briefs that was incorporated into the Co-Respondence book I showcased in an earlier post, was to create ambient advertising, Something with which to subliminally influence, or interact with the audience as they pass by & engage with the advert.

After disposing of a fairly atrocious viagra idea (featuring an inflating phallic balloon embedded into a double page spread; which was later discovered to have been unconciously influenced by the old wonderbra advertisements of a similar concept) myself, and my partner for the brief took it upon ourselves to visit every clothes shop in town and hassle/harrass them for the use of a mannequins legs for the afternoon.. I must have sounded like such a pervert begging for prosthetic limbs, but hey, if you don't ask you don't get right?

Thankfully the staff at H&M were absolutely wonderful to us, and with our severed legs in tow we set about recreating the infamous scene from The Wizard of Oz, to promote a theatrical production of the tale in the Grand Theatre. I was surprisingly comfortable clothes shopping for tights, skirts and shoes whilst clutching the naked buttocks of a moulded plastic lady, perhaps I shouldn't admit to that.

The outcome, as you can see, was a little more 'leggy' than we'd hoped for, so apologies for portraying a childhood classic as a sexy romp, but it was essentially just a visual, with which to get the concept across, and in a limited space of time, I was more than pleased with the result, Some elderly passers by were fairly pleased to catch a glimpse of some upskirt action too thanks to the coastal winds.. disturbing!

The second ambient solution we came up with required nothing more than a skateboard and some string, promoting a Vans campaign for urban interaction, having fixed the skateboard to the seats of the bus shelters here; which appropriately look like rails from a skatepark, and thus are lacking in comfort, but are inspirational in idea forming apparently.

Paired up with an image of a skater having 'bailed' and put his head through the adshell at the end of the bus shelter, it offered a challenge of sorts to the target demographic for the advertisement, to do one better and turn elements of the urban environment into interactive skateparks.

Hey, if all else fails, at least it was worth it for the looks we got from the general public, I am wondering why we never put the maimed naked mannequin onto the skateboard and took her for a walk round the park though.

Hughes; Leader of Men

2009-03-05T23:35:00.002Z

Connoisseurship is a wonderful way to describe elitism, I myself consider myself a connoisseur of certain aspects of life, yet to others I can be seen as stuck up, materialistic or indeed, elitist. Fortunately for myself however, I'm not regarded as a figure of authority within any public realms.

Hughes' piece in Sept 13th's Guardian, Aimed with extreme accuracy at Damien Hirsts temples, Is a revolting and scathing display of class defining arrogance. His accusations against Hirsts talent, or lack thereof, are far from impartial; Namely those aimed at Hirsts market, these people relish, consume and purchase his work of their own perogative. For Hughes to use his position of power and regard to thrust low class, poorly educated and unworthy tags at these people is almost childish; I’m beginning to wonder if Hughes isn’t on Sotherbys payroll…

I personally don’t consider Hirsts works to be fantastically skilled, creative or innovative for that matter, and I’m completely aware of his fanbase being the vampiric ‘contemporary london’ pseudo-yuppies that thrive on image, borrowed style and trying to out-do one anothers marvelous stories about who did what where when and how much better the next persons yarn will be.

But that is where we are now, society is becoming more apathetic, more complacent and less involved (maybe even less passionate). Does that really make one persons opinions and tastes of any less worth purely because they’re not an art historian, critic or curator?! Yes these people may just be purchasing ‘a Hirst’ how they’d purchase ‘a Banksy’ or ‘a Warhol’, But to think that Hirst isn’t exploitative of that is absurd, He knows his market, He knows his niche and in this has established himself as a celebrity; rather than an artist, A persona of sporadic output and well bred curiosity.

The idea of the canon is all a little too Orwellian at times, And if Hughes wants to become Big Brother, So be it, May he be respected and revered by like minded zealots at the next high class fundraiser whilst Hirst appropriates his way to another million.

Cheap Luxury

2009-03-04T23:34:00.001Z

Recently we were asked to team up with photography students within the college to come up with a solution for a choice of briefs, which would result in an end production & presentation to 'clients'. After deliberation we decided to approach a campaign which aimed to get consumers through Marks & Spencers doors, despite the current financial climate.

Truth be told, The key research finding came to me amidst a flurry of figures in researching the outgoing production costs of the average television advert, believe me, I am atrocious with numbers, but for a few days I was surrounded by calculators and print outs figuring out how to save money whilst still retaining the class of M&S existing advertising campaigns.

Then I stumbled upon the emissions figures for the average tv per household, what was discovered left me in a state of excitable frenzy, It was so simple to cut the advertising costs by millions (shaving thousands off the advertisement production, food photography, lighting, sound recording & endorsement costs alone) by simply doing nothing.

As you can expect the response when questioned at the beginning of our presentation to our proclaiming we had 'done nothing' was one of absolute confusion, But with the delivery of the facts that regarding consumption and emission costs, and the reductions showing a blank tv screen for just 30 seconds at a time can have on the average national electricity bill, It was only right to see jaws drop.

Anyway.. heres the rationale if any of you are interested in how it all works!

" - The solution we have provided to bring your plan A ethos into both the execution and expenditure of television advertising production, Is based upon saving energy & reducing emissions per viewing household.

- With the average household running 3-4 tv sets, each over an average period of 5-9 hours per day (allowing up to 36 placement possibilities per day), viewing figures rest at approximately 43’396 per week, totaling an average amount of 2’286’180 viewers per year.

- Our plan to save money through this is based upon the light emissions from a standard tv set (uk average being 21” crt/lcd) A tv set showing a black screen, emits only 9 kw/h whereas any light being emitted boosts this figure to 128 kw/h.

- By showing a blank advertisement, we effectively save £4396 on national electricity bills per week, averaging out at approximately the same per store each year, allowing viewers to have a little more money to spend on your luxurious products.

- Additional savings come via reduced production costs, with the average 30 second advertisement costing around £140’000, paired with primetime placement costs of between 1 and 2 million per year, further reductions may come in cutting celebrity voices on the advertisements, in favour of using staff or colloquial accents instead.

Sources – barb.co.uk

Ukpower.co.uk"

Canon Fodder

2009-03-03T23:33:00.001Z

The idea of a canon itself, even seems like pompous hierarchy in which artists and creative thinkers tether their talents and ability, in accordance of what they have been told to admire, respect and aspire to, I mean are the works of cassandre or lizzitsky any more relevant; or important, than those of sagmeister, glaser or speikerman?

Surely this has a dependency on both curriculum, which for the most part is a grounded, never-changing shambles anyway. And moreso, the opinions of whoever was responsible for ‘educating’ us at any given moment in our lives. To think that art even needs a ranking system, let alone one controlled and moderated by museum curators or wealthy critics, is absurd in every way.

If I were to say my ‘canon of graphic design’ peaked with D.C Thompsons Dandy or Beano comic, And that I thought Milton Glasers supposedly seminal works were the lowest point in design history, I’m sure I would receive a lot of critique upon my opinion.. But who is actually to say that opinion would be any more right or wrong than championing tschichold, lubalin, brody or other champions of the design niche.

So why is there this need for conformity, in what essentially should just be a personal ranking of influence and inspiration, Yes it sets a benchmark, epitomizes a style from an era, and even gives foundation to a world that thrives as much on difference, criticism and opinions as it does on theory, psychology and interaction.

Perhaps my views are just cynical and I should devote my life and rear my work in the style of those seminal works listed in Phillip B Meggs, ‘history of graphic design’, But considering even that has altered over it’s four editions I’m not sure I’d be that convinced I wasn’t just buying into a certainty in the need to replicate the styles of yesteryear, or keep alive the accessibility and stylished appeal of certain modern icons, albeit that of a typeface.

I just know that I personally would rank Scott Kings work within sleazenation, Or sagmeisters ‘set the twilight reeling’, even Rafael Desotas iconic pulp illustrations far above Charles Rennie Macintosh or Joseph Binder. But it’s personal taste, It’s ‘What I Know vs. What I’m Told I Should Know’.

Co-Respondence

2009-03-02T17:22:00.005Z

The lead-in work at college was based firmly in restriction, having our hands tied, and as such, disabled, the expectation was that in removing the ability to use type/image or use two elements to suggest a third, that we would be backed into a corner, thus forcing a creative response. Whilst these briefs spanned anything between a week, or even just a few hours, it was essentially for content for the first assessable brief of the year.

The requirement was to come up with a conceptual book, in which to contain all of the solutions to the quickfire briefs set in the weeks previous. As these mini-briefs were essentially all group collaborations between myself and one other (per brief, I guess to familiarise ourselves with everyone on the course) my concept was one of co-operation & the worth of corresponding and communicating with another creative.

This led me onto the notion of correspondence itself, as a means of communication, and in return, as a response. Thus, CO-RESPONDENCE (a collaborative response) was born, and in it the media reflected upon the concept with my choice to print the entire thing on a series of postcards and envelopes (which was bloody tricky to print and assemble without too many fuck ups!)

The concertina fold would unveil a hand drawn & printed image of pylons, as a juxtaposition with the envelopes; offering a commentary on the shift in method of communcation in modern times. Whilst the interior folds would house the postcards, each of them forming a mini-booklet showing the content of each brief, rationales, development sketches & acknowledgements!

Anyway.. here it is!

In the beginning...

2009-03-01T14:07:00.001Z

So, first things first, I'm Dave Kennedy, currently a second year BA (hons) Graphics Student with a seriously cynical view of the world.. I'm fairly sure this will unveil itself in the coming months but who knows, time heals everything right?

This whole 'blogging' lark is virgin to me, I've never even kept a personal journal, the closest I've ever gotten to anything like this are debauched tour diaries strung together during the few weeks off to shake off jetlag & alcohol hangovers of living the low-life touring europes toilet circuit with various 'punk' bands.

However, in a bid to combat my faltering motivation, I'm trying to publish my progress and leave it open to critique from now on, if nothing it will make for a few interesting debates or at least tiresome reads. It may take me a while to get into the swing of things, regardinging entertainment value, but with the majority of the college based responses being no doubt, verbal attacks on the pseudo-virtues of contemporary society, it should at least give me a soapbox for sarcasm and sanctimony!

Please feel free to share your opinions, no matter how crass, absurd or downright rude they may be, after all, inspiration can come from anywhere, and emotion usually influences the best response!