28th September

As visual communicators we are constantly being influenced by our surroundings and therefore by what others have done before us. They may not be very apparent and can be very subtle, but any artist would have to be quite ignorant to think that their work is original.  Any decision made within your work will have come from thinking that for example a certain layout would work well for this piece or even down to what materials you use to make your final outcome. To emphasise my point I will use Millais’s 1851-1852 painting of Ophelia. At first this received very few praise, but since then it has found its way into modern culture and is the concept to Kylie Minogue’s video for “Were the Wild Roses Grow” and Vogue Girl’s Korean addition.

As seen in the pictures above Minogue and the model in Aprils addition of Vogue Girl is in the same pose as Elizabeth Siddal (model for Millais Ophelia) and they even has the same vacant look as Siddal had.  The vogue edition is almost an exact copy of Ophelia, but has been shot head on to emphasise the clothes more as that’s the purpose for their work. Even when trying to make a new and innovating video people like Rocky Shenck (director for Where the Wild Roses Grow) end up using somebody else’s work to influence theirs and these two examples of an modernised Ophelia show that nothing is completely original, but as long as you realise where your concept has come from, then you can create something that, all though may have been inspired by someone else’s work still has your own touch to it.

Using the above examples shown, I am going to discuss how relationships develop from existing forms of historical culture. A classic example is Shakespeare's play Hamlet. From this, the tragedy that befell Ophelia has been transformed and developed again and again in many different mediums. Many artists have painted this iconic scene, but i believe Millais's is one of the most known. The minuscule details he has added such as the red poppy help emphasise the story he is depicting. These details show that he is following the zeitgeist of the Victorian era. The next example shows how just as Millais took a piece of literature and developed it into a painting, Shenck took Millais painting and developed it further transforming it into a digital piece, which with the MTV generation today, brought this story to a new audience. I believe these examples show how through time art is created using one significant piece of culture to form a new idea and from that artists can then explore theire creativity and develop it further. The main point is that inspiration may come from the same source, but depending on the spirit of the time (the zeitgeist) it will change how the art is delivered and how it engages the audience.

12th October

This week’s lecture was all about how to make your work legible to your audience. The first point I am going to talk about is how to make visual communication legible. Some things to take into consideration are things like the typeface, size, layout, use of colour and white space. One of the most important things to take think about is the size, as due to new laws, you have to think about people with disabilities and how it maybe harder for them to read your flyer at a certain size. This is a big importance as you may have the most amazing flyer, advertising something that could really interest someone, but if they cant read the text then its just a waste of paper as it’ll end up being discarded on the floor. Another thing to take into consideration is what colour you will put on your work, as certain colours will be hard to read together. For example, yellow text on white or screen will never be legible. As well as aspects that will make your work illegible, you also have to think about how certain colours will be easier read than others. Such as dark text will be more legible on light coloured paper than say pastels. One example as shown below shows that even if you have an amazing design, idea and concept, if it is not legible and you cant work out what the type says no one will take notice and you will end up having a very bad reputation with your employers, as if this was an advertisement and they’d made a whole marketing campaign around your concept, if its not legible no one will read it and this the company will lose money.

The next point I am going to make is about visual hierarchy.  For example the size of the number 26 in the picture below sticks out the most followed closely by paramore. Visual hierarchy is very important, as it’s a way to give the audience the most importance information first to pull them in. This is just words put together but in the use of advertising this is extremely important. The example of the poster for Hot Fuzz shows the image as what is first and for most their most important thing on paper. The picture tells people that it’s about, police. Then the title is the next important thing, as people can go off and use the Internet to look for the trailer and then the next important thing is the tagline. Taglines are a good selling point, but in this case they’ve used the pictures to create the image in the persons imagination first. An example showing how the use of visual hierarchy has changed is in the third example taken from a newspaper from the 1800’s.  The only real hierarchy you can see is the newspapers name. Then come to today’s newspapers and with the use of headings and sub headings, it is a lot easier on the eyes and so it is more likely to sell. There is a picture depicting what’s going on as well, as a picture tells a thousand words.

5th October

This week I am going to talk about understanding the various practices of illustration will help to progress and advance your own practice. Originally an illustrator’s roll was to illuminate and clarify text through the use of visual communication. This generally would be hand rendered, but as times gone on illustration has become a much broader meaning. To keep at the top, illustrators today need to be able to use all sorts of media to create their work because as time has progressed so have digital aids. By trying out different mediums such as drawings, photographs, aids from a computer such as adobe’s creative suite, sculptures, it gives the illustrator a chance to take risks. Sometimes these risks will not pay off, but exploring different ways to create your image will make you a stronger artist. As well as experimentation another key point to gaining a more fulfilled visual vocabulary, is to be constantly be evaluating yours and others work. This we help you de-piece how to illustrations are put together and which things such as layouts and images will work for your brief, as it will help you understand your audience, which is a very important thing. With this in mind I think to excel you need to explore different mediums, find what suits you and your briefs best. Although I believe trying new things will help better your visual vocabulary, I also believe to become the best illustrator one can, they need to look at past work and evaluate it as there is also things you can learn from understanding why someone used the choice of medium they did or what the meaning behind their works are.

The next point I am going to write about is the notion of inspiration derives from constant inquiry, based on research, observation and experimentation. To me this is about never take the first answer you are given, there’s always a sub text to that and the more you inquire the deeper understanding of different paintings, for example you will gain.  If you don’t ask questions then you wont advance. Even if the questions are based inwards at yourself, asking what it is you like to do and how such things can be incorporated. I believe asking yourself questions will help you find inspiration as sometimes you’re set a brief that doesn’t inspire you, but introducing aspects be it subject content or the medium you use will make your brief a lot more fun and thus you will be more inspired. As well as being inquisitive, you need to research, as generally the first idea you might have will not be your strongest. As well understanding different peoples takes on similar topics will help you create a wider picture than your own idea, as researching other ways could open a door to an option which you may not have originally thought of. Another way to get inspiration is to look at things going around you and observe them, look at the way people interact, how different cities have different vibes for example. By recording these things either with the use of photography or taking the time to sketch what you see, you will get more inspiration than just sitting in a room all day. Go out and explore, experiment within what you’re doing, not everything will work, but some will and this will help to keep your work inspirational for others that may research your work later on for example.