A moving type video to brighten your day

I don't know about where you are, but it's been pretty awful weather where I am today. I'm talking heavy rain, wind, freezing cold, stormy :/

So what did I do today? I watched Camp Rock 2 (because I'm so mature like that!). Anyway afterwards I decided to Google a couple of the lyric videos (don't judge...okay you can if you want).

One of them was a really colourful and animated moving typography animation, it's really good. To be honest it's pretty useless if you watched it to learn the lyrics to the song as the words appear a little out of sync and there's a lot of changing angles and what have you.

Here's the link... even if you hate the movie or think the song is lame just watch it anyway, lots of bright colours and cheesy imagery asscoiations.

Introducing Me - moving type lyrics

Until next time :) 

Lex Wilson 3D Typography

Thought I'd grab your attention by showing his work... how amazing is that?!

I was just searching through Behance looking for potential influences for my new 'Happiness' project and I came across Lex Wilson's work. It's so clever and the effect is so eye catching and powerful. Each letter has been composed in several sets of staircases.

Each of these pieces of typography has been done using only graphics pen and pencil; simple materials but the outcomes are just amazing.

Another angle of the same concept. Wilson has found the key perspective and angle to create this 3D effect. 

Issuu Links

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been posting much, it's been a bit hectic lately.

Basically we've just finished a project on Typography & Layout where we created a digital portfolio. If you fancy taking a look of some of my finished pieces which I've been too lazy to post on here, then it'd be cool!

Digital Portfolio

As part of my Uni applications I also had to create a portfolio of work, this time including images of my sketchbook development work, which I think is quite cool so click on this link if you want to look at experiments etc. 

Sketchbook & Work Portfolio

Finally, as part of our 'Typographic Quote' project (which I got a Distinction for, yay!), we were required to submit an essay about the historic development of typography, which was quite fun and interesting to do so click below if you fancy a read. 

The History of Typography

Just for the hell of it I may as well upload my finished pieces for this project since that's what I've been talking about. 

Universities

Over the last few months, I have visited a number of Universities, all of which had good and bad points. I am currently doing a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Graphic and Interactive Design working towards a grade of DDD so far, with projected UCAS points of 380.

The Universities I have visited are:

• DeMontfort, Leicester: Graphics with Illustration
• Loughborough: Graphics with Illustration
• NUA, Norwich: Illustration
• Nottingham Trent: Graphics
• Staffordshire: Illustration

DeMontfort 

Good points 

• Halls are within walking distance to campus and town centre
• Campus is being pedestrianised
• Multiple halls of residence
• Course is interesting and I liked the work on display
• University has good contacts with companies in industry 

Bad points

• A chance you won't be accepted into the second year
• Confusing 'Gurus and Grasshoppers' system
• Unsure how classes are set out: If first years have own studio space or is all years are together

Loughborough

Good points

• Everything you could need is on campus, which in itself is pedestrianised and spacious
• The course structure and content is really interesting
• Offer the Erasmus scheme to study abroad in Year 2
• Halls are homely and reasonably priced

Bad points

• We weren't told in prospectus or at the Open Day the exact wanted grades to get an interview or place on the course.

NUA

Good points

• Give students a lot of competition experience
• Course was interesting

Bad points

• Campus was spread out over town centre and halls were quite far away
• Halls expensive
• Actual work itself wasn't the kind of illustration I wanted to do.

Nottingham Trent

Good points

• Campus was all close together 

Bad points

• Person giving the course talk didn't seem interested at all and skipped through most of the slideshow which showed students work.
• Course was Graphics only
• Studio has all three year groups in the same room

Staffordshire

Good points

• Graphics and Illustration students get a permanent work space
• Topics and projects they do are interesting 
• Studios are spacious and comfortable

Bad points 

• We weren't told which projects are given to Graphics students and which are for Illustration
• Encouraged to make 3D versions of outcomes using wood and metal workshops

Based on these points, I will definitely be applying to DeMontfort and Loughborough, possibly Staffordshire. I wont apply to NUA and Nottingham Trent though. 

Typographic Quotes Project

We began a typographic quotes project in college in September, and recently had an interim critique session. To allow you all to catch up, I'll just upload a few of my experiments I've been doing.

Typography is the design and style of  words or letters. 

I've researched a few typographers in this project, and I found Alan Fletcher's work to be the most inspiring. This is the second time I have influenced him in a project, the last of which was in my WWF Rebranding project. Within this one, I have found his work useful in the way he visually portrays the typography. This made the type more interesting as a whole to look at and, because I am good at analysing words and phrases, I thought I could use this in my own designs. 

On the right is an example of his work. As you can see he manipulates the type based on what the words say: he has written 'Manhattan' tall and narrow to suggest the Manhattan skyline.


'Every artist was first an amateur'

This was a photocopy of a digital quote; the word 'amateur' was originally letterblock prints to give a childlike appearance. I cut out the key words and suggested the journey almost from an amateur to an artist and placed prints behind each key word to suggest this. The typeface slowly becomes more childlike and amateur-ish as it moves down the page. I placed a print I did when I was 4 behind amateur and a print I have recently done in college behind
'artist' to portray my own journey in the quote.

Experiment 2: Influenced by Stina Persson's grungy and urban style

I did these experiments using flour and cocoa. The drop-shadow idea worked the best as it gives a defined contrast between artist and amateur, which has no drop shadow. The powdery effect gives the impression of spray paint almost. I submitted these last two outcomes for an interim critique in college and my peers found them to be very effective, so I will adapt them for one of my final quotes,

Stina Persson

I came across this artist in an issue of Creative Review, 

and her work has inspired quite a few

of my own designs in college development work. 

Stina Persson is a Swedish designer, who is currently based in her home town, but has previously worked in Tokyo and New York for a range of editorial and corporate clients: (Coca-Cola, Elle UK, Vogue, Nike etc.)

Her work always includes paper, acrylic, ink, dyes and pencil, and is usually digitally edited before being published. She describes her style as 'making the ugly pretty and making the beautiful edgy.' 

This was the first image I ever saw of her work, and I instantly loved it due to the edgy and contemporary style. In my work, I always tend to be tight and neat; afraid of being messy if I were to try an edgy style. Persson's work has inspired me and given me ideas as to how it can be done in a stylish way. Here, she has used cut up paper to unevenly add colour to the images and allowed ink to run down the page, which adds a grungy and urban effect. She has made subtle imperfections such as this to make her work edgy. 

Two more examples of her work. The peacock image used the same concept as using paper and ink in an edgy manner. The ink blot as the background works very well in bringing an urban and contemporary vibe to the image. I like how the colour runs over the outlines on the buildings as it brings atmosphere to the scene. 

This is a final piece for a project which called for a mixed media collage which represents the town of Chesterfield. As the colours from buildings from images I collected, I saw that the tones were very urban and grimy: grey, brown, beige etc. I influenced Persson's grimy and edgy style by adding messy streaks of ink and watercolour, which I think made the overall image atmospheric and interesting. 

Nature Photography

Hello people! Excuse my absence, totally forgot to keep this up to date over summer

(oops!). So I'll just spam you with a few posts to compensate!

I've recently re-discovered folders of some amateur photography stuff I did when visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Allestree Park over summer, and some of them are actually pretty cool considering my lack of experience with photography. 

YSP: Refletiion shot of some sticks in a stream. Has a good abstract quality.

YSP: I like the effect of the light through the branches.

YSP: The composition and contrast between the light and shade is nice. 

Allestree: Again a shot experimenting with how light affects the environment.

Allestree: I like the effect of the rippled reflection.

Allestree: I love the rich, autumnal colours captured here.