ITAP Design Canons - So Me

So Me is a Parisian graphic designer/animator. He is the art director for Ed Banger Records, So Me provides the artistic and visual identity which accompanies the Ed Banger Records brand of music. As well as creating album artwork he has explored other media, including music videos, magazine illustration and t-shirt prints.

He has created award-winning music videos for Justice, Kid Cudi, MGMT, DJ Mehdi, Kanye West and Duck Sauce’s ‘Barbara Streisand’. So Me is the main designer for the clothing company CoolCats, he has also designed t-shirts for H&M and Japanese label Revolver.

Coca Cola teamed up with Justice and So Me to develop a specially designed bottle for the Coca Cola Club. The bottle features the ‘Do the dance’ slogan, lyrics from Justice’s song D.A.N.C.E, the bottles main feature is revealed at night - it glows in the dark.

So Me animated Justice’s video D.A.N.C.E, which was nominated for the 2007 MTV Video Music Award. In the video Auge and Rosnay walk and the image on their t-shirts constantly change, depicting cars, people, numbers, patterns and lyrics.

So Me also directed the video for Justice v Simian ‘We are Friends’ which won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards (2006) which didn’t please Kanye West who was also nominated for this award, he stormed the stage and ranted: "My video cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it, I was jumping across canyons and shit". For his next single ‘Good Life’ he approached So Me to create his video, it features Kanye and T-Pain performing with animated backgrounds and mouthing the song lyrics which appear in large letters.

From Novice to Expert

The Novice to Expert scale is based on the Dreyfus model, which provides a way to assess and support progress in the development of skills. Advancement through the various stages requires motivation, hard work and an eye for design. Reaching the expert end of the scale may take years and a variety of experiences is also key. The Expert level means your work is at an excellent standard however does not suggest that progression ends, learning new skills is still as important as ever.

As I developed an interest in graphic design at school and advanced on to a BTEC in Art and Design, I would say I was a novice in the field. A Novice is said to need close supervision and instruction to produce satisfactory work. I had little confidence in my work and had minimal knowledge of the area.

Progressing through my course I felt I was still at the Beginner stage, although I had a better knowledge of the practice, having worked on graphics based projects and having researched into designers, the standard of my work still needed improvement. I was however able to make more decisions about my own work without advice and create more resolved pieces. 

Gaining a place on the Visual Communication course at BCU has allowed me to develop my skills further, and I feel I’m now edging on to the competent level of the scale. The standard of my work has improved through working on the ‘Introduction to BIAD’ briefs and by looking into aspects of design that influence and inspire me. By the time I come to the end of the course I hope to have a greater depth of understanding of the practice, be able to confidently make decisions and take full responsibility for my work and therefore be at the Proficient stage.

I think the Expert stage on the scale will come after leaving university, and experiencing what it is like in the graphic design industry, conversing with clients and completely briefs successfully. Having a vast understanding of the practice and what is required, and going beyond the existing boundaries of design are also what I hope to achieve.

A graphic designer who I see as an Expert is Kate Moross, she works across various disciplines within graphic design including typography, logo design, advertising and t-shirts. I have recently discovered her work after looking into how designers get their work into the industry and coming across her website. She has developed her own style over time, which is very illustrative often using abstract shapes, bold colours and free form type. As well as commercial briefs she works on personal projects, allowing her to continue being inspired, experiment freely and generate new thoughts and ideas.

Launching into a creative industry and becoming an ‘expert’ can be challenging.

There is a lot of competition within the commercial environment and therefore it is important to develop a style that is distinctive. Gaining feedback and reactions about your work is very important in developing and improving your own visual style.

In a nutshell as a graphic designer you need to develop your skills to advance from novice to expert. Throughout this process it is important to learn and experience as much as possible.

How does text change the context of an image? How can text influence us emotionally?

Text is a fundamental part of graphic communication, it can compliment an image or completely alter the meaning of it. It can be used to explain the image or change the emotion that is felt when viewing the image. The combined use of visual and textual language is important when communicating to an audience.

A simple photograph can capture a moment in time, the emotions, the setting and the people there, it can often also misguide people, giving us one impression when infact there could be a hundred explanations to the reason behind it.

This photograph is by Joel Sternfield, from his book ‘On This Site’. Without text you would think nothing much of it, that it’s just a slightly run down house or it could easily be a photo you see in an Estate Agent. However when seen with the accompanying text you realise it is infact a site where hundreds of toxic chemicals have been dumped causing residents to get cancer and babies to have mutations. This changes the meaning of the image considerably, having a more dramatic impact on the viewer.

Sternfield explores this theme throughout his book, looking at places where tragic and unthinkable events have happened. He shows us how we tie emotions to certain places and that these places cannot be forgotten because of what has happened there. The lack of humans in the photographs makes them even more surreal and desolate.

Charity campaigns often use text to influence us emotionally.

This advert for Refuge, (a domestic abuse charity for women and children) manipulates the audience’s emotions by looking at violence from a child’s point of view. Using a letter written to Santa, in simple language and in the handwriting of a child it makes people react and feel empathy for children in that situation. This poster has been designed specifically to trigger people’s emotions to encourage them to support the charity, giving money or otherwise.

The text below the letter reads, ‘90% of domestic violence is witnessed by children’, by having this fact it strengthens the urgency and importance of the piece.

In conclusion, the effect of text on an image can drastically alter its meaning and context. When an image is viewed by an audience assumptions and opinions are naturally made. If accompanied with a simple line of text this can instantly change how the image is perceived and the emotions that are felt. Occasionally artists/designers decide that they want their audience to have their own interpretation of the work and therefore don’t include any text to explain it.



Development of Creative Thought and Structure

Challenging Mindsets

It is inevitable that we will at some point fall into a routine way of working, say you develop a style, you like the results so you stick with it, the problem is the outcomes will become predictable and very similar. To overcome this we need to break out of our comfort zone, try something new, be more playful and challenge ourselves to different ways of thinking. In design now the boundaries are blurring between specialisms, illustrators are using photography and graphic designers are using illustration, this allows us to experiment a lot more with mixed media and incorporate more elements into our work.

I find looking at artists and other creative students work, even those not in visual communication, helps to see how different people approach ideas and ways of presenting their work. Getting inspiration from various areas of art means you can interpret the themes, colour palettes or shapes into graphic design. To produce work that is fresh and original, I find it best to come up with as many ideas as possible to start with, the more you come up with the more likely it is that you will find something you never would have thought of before. By constantly developing our ways of working and things we are inspired by, will enable us to create new and innovative ideas.

Managing a Creative Environment

As an artist/designer it is vital that the area you work in is visual stimulating and an inspirational place. It can enormously enhance the production of creative ideas and experimental development. You need to be able to feel comfortable and relaxed, so you can completely immerse yourself in the work.

Personally I don’t like being in a messy environment, I prefer things to be organised and in there place, so rather than everything being out on the desk I have various boxes filled with paints, ribbons, pens, papers, old magazines etc. I surround myself with postcards, flyers for events, pages from magazines, tickets (from trains, cinema) and photographs, all which I have collected over time.

This is the work area of a graphic design studio called Mind Design, it really makes me want to explore it, look at all the books they have. It has been quite simply decorated but they have given it their own stamp with posters, objects they have collected, quirky furniture and lots of books. It seems there are several different areas within the studio, a place to work on the macs, somewhere to do messy experimental work, chairs to sit round and discuss ideas and beanbags to take a break on. Mind Design's website

Production and Outcomes

Interpretation

It is important to understand the historical context behind pieces of art or design. The moment in time when they are produced is very relevant to how the work is read. Books and plays are often remade and regenerated, doing this keeps the stories alive and allows then to be modernised and appeal to the audience of the time.

An example of interpretation is The Hunchback of Notre Dame originally a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831, has been adapted many times into films, plays and TV series. François Flameng created the illustrations for the original book, he used engraving and ink because at the time it was a popular and effective technique. In this case it is also very appropriate as it gives the scary/distressing feel, emphasising the darkness of the story.

In 1996 Walt Disney produced a film based on the novel, but adapted to make it more suitable for children. They made the Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Phoebus, kinder than in the novel, adding sidekicks in the form of three humanized stone gargoyles, and keeping Quasimodo and Esmeralda alive at the end. The use of technology meant the film could be completely animated, using actor’s voices. This version was a lot more innocent and colourful than the original, so it would appeal to children.

To conclude, books, films and plays will be updated and refreshed throughout time, mainly to satisfy the target audience and also as technology advances there are more possibilities to make new versions.

 Testing- Getting your work out there

Gaining feedback and getting reactions about work is very important in developing and improving your visual language and specific pieces. Especially as young, new designers who are likely to have had little comment/criticism about their work. There are several ways in which to do this including exhibitions, creating books and more recently popular online. By having a website or a blog it allows you to constantly update and change the content, and it allows you to show a lot of work and gain feedback.

I have looked at the website of Kate Moross, who is a designer and illustrator based in London. 

Her website I feel is simple but effective, it has a clear layout set in columns and black type on a white background. In her description there is a section which allows you to contact her and ask questions about her work and give feedback, there are also links to her other sites including flickr, blogspot and facebook. Then down the side are links, in bright colours, to other pages showing her work. If you navigate to the ‘WORK’ section it houses lots of examples of projects she has worked on, arrange by Client and/or Category. 

By creating this website and creating a network of all her other resources many people will see her work and maybe look further into what she does, also she will gain feedback along the way enabling her to look at her work and possible ways to improve it.

When it comes to web design I think it is important that your website is a bit different, quirky, especially in the creative industry you need to stand out straight away. Also you need to make sure you can navigate easily around the site and find what you are looking for.

Other sites I found interesting:

http://www.copyrightdavis.com/

http://www.pushpininc.com/

Development of Ideas and Structure in Moving Image

3 Act Structure:

The three act is a commonly used way of structuring plays and feature films, it is also important in visual communication to have this sense of narrative and story telling.

It is based on the simple thoughts of a good story having a beginning, middle and end. Or to expand on this, there is establishment, a crisis and then a resolution. A scenario is established, what is happening here and now, setting the scene and anchoring the viewer in the story. Something new is then introduced, a crisis throwing out the equilibrium previously. Finally order is restored, problems have been resolved or decisions have been made, a new equilibrium is created (not necessarily a happy ending).

I’ve look at Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland as an example,

The film starts with a short flash back to when Alice was a young girl and she goes to see her father after having a recurring nightmare, he takes her back to bed and she explains to him what the creatures were like. It then cuts to a scene of a horse and cart travelling down a track, with the type ‘Thirteen Years Later’. Which brings us to the here and now, Alice’s father has died and her mother takes her to a high society garden party where she receives a rather unwelcome proposal of marriage. She is unsure how to reply and chases a white rabbit in a waistcoat and accidently falls into a large rabbit hole where she is transported to a place called Underland.

Alice is greeted by the White Rabbit, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Doormouse and the Dodo. They argue over her identity as "the right Alice," who it is foretold will slay the Red Queen’s Jabberwock on the Frabjous Day and restore the White Queen to power. This is the main crisis, Alice must find the Vorpal sword in order to slay the Jabberwock, There are obstacles in the way, the red playing card army are sent to capture Alice, she escapes and makes her way to the Red Queens castle in a attempt to save the Mad Hatter and find the sword. She retrieves the sword and befriends the bandersnatch, she flees and takes the sword to the White Queen.

Alice is unsure about the prospect of being champion to the White Queen, she meets with Absolum who gives her the courage to fight. When Frabjous day arrives they prepare for battle, and the two armies come together, Alice manages to kill the Jabberwock and the White Queen gains control of the throne, the problem being resolved and restoring Underland as a good place. She gives Alice a vial of the Jabberwock’s blood, allowing her to go home. Where she has to face the issues from the beginning of the film and has to take charge of her life. She refuses the marriage proposal, becomes an apprentice in her father’s company, and sets of on a trading ship.

Character Design:

There are three main aspects to character design, appearance, action and interaction. Staying with the same film, I will focus on Alice as a character, she is the Protagonist, the one who we view the film through and who experiences the conflicts throughout.

     Her appearance is vaguely based on that of previous makings of Alice, but her blue dress no longer has the white pinafore and has more intricate detailing with black buttons and lace around the neckline. She has curly hair and has lost the headband and bow of her youth, also wearing white boots with a small heal.

     Alice is a 19 year old girl, who doesn’t quite fit into the high society Victorian lifestyle, she doesn’t behave how she is expected to. She is very curious and has crazy thoughts, she is also shown to be strong willed and brave.

     Interaction, conflict happens with every new character Alice meets and is confronted with strange behaviour, she is quite wary of the characters in Underland and isn’t sure if they are friends or enemies. 

The Creative Brain and Drawing

Utilising your creative brain

Our brains are made up of two halves, commonly known as the right brain and left brain. Being conscious of how the brain functions can help us to be more creative.  I found it fascinating to find out that each side of our brain functions in a completely different way. The right side of the brain is intuitive and visual, whereas the left side is verbal and analytical. Although we have a natural tendency to favour the left side, both sides of our brain are working together throughout daily life.

By learning to consciously use the right brain we can be more creative. The right brain is child-like, it has no sense of time, it’s care free and spontaneous. As a child you aren’t concerned whether your house looks exactly right you just enjoy drawing it. But as we get older we often become critical and self conscious about our work causing tightness and lack of creativity.

There are ways to get into the right brain way of thinking, examples of these are drawing with your left hand (opposite hand), using continuous line and setting yourself a time limit in which to draw, say 1 minute. This enables you to produce images that aren’t perfect but make you work more freely and be more experimental. By creating images and ideas using our right brain, we can then evaluate and them with the left brain thoughts, annotating and thinking about how they could be improved and developed further. Learning to work using both sides of the brain is an extremely useful tool.

Drawing for ideas:

Drawing allows you to connect you hand, eye and right brain, linking to the thoughts of using your creative brain. We can’t hold all our thoughts and ideas in our minds, drawing allows us to sketch out these thoughts and make connections between them on the page, translating our ideas into a visual form. It is a fundamental part of the idea generation process, it’s not about creating a masterpiece more about solving a problem visually. The key is getting over your inner critic and drawing without embarrassment, experimenting with new things, working with different media, just simple drawings and thumbnails. I find this tough, I want everything to always look perfect first time and I understand now that I should have a more relaxed view and just sketch my ideas happily. I’m going to consciously draw more and have fun with it and try not being too precious with my work.

Whether you are creating a poster, a logo or magazine spread initial sketches are a crucial part of the creative process. In these times of constantly improving technology, it is even more vital that we do hundreds of sketches before going near a computer. If we can’t communicate a simple idea through a sketch, how would we begin to create it on the computer. Once you have done drawings and got the idea clear in your head, design programmes can be extremely useful in making this idea come alive.

Examples of work by David Fullarton, an artist/illustrator.

I feel David Fullarton has this loose, unconcerned style of drawing, he isn’t bothered that it looks perfect but he is clearly expressing his thoughts in a playful way. He achieves this by working with a mixed media approach, illustrations, found objects and hand drawn typography all working together. He draws regularly, just things that pop into his head and I think this is a good way to approach it, a drawing a day may have to become a habit of mine.         

more of his work here http://www.davidfullarton.com

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day, for no matter how little it is,

 it will be well worthwhile, and it will do you a world of good."

 ~ Cennino Cennini.