I recently went to the Museum of Modern Art in New york which ahd a really interesting section dedicated to the idea that design is not art and art is not design, but what happens when the two swap places?
There were many pieces which illustrated where design comes into practice when dealing with every day objects such as chairs, we see some which are highly impractical but entirely beautiful! It was an interesting exhibition, I have some pictures which I will upload when I can, to illustrate the ideas broached.
I was also reading a great book (which I have already posted about) Cracking The Whip (Ralph Caplan), which has an article on the importance of art in design and the differences between the two. this could be a possible topic to research for my dissertation.
Excerpts from the Moma website:
Design is not always pretty. Sometimes it is blunt and aggressive, especially when it is meant to deliver a clear message or depart from tradition and express new ideas. Rough Cut presents a selection of bold designs from MoMA's collection, ranging from striking posters to fierce chairs, and from incisive videos to vehicles designed for harsh terrains and unforgiving circumstances. Design is not always pretty—but when it is good, it is undeniably powerful, meaningful, and beautiful.
At mid-century MoMA played a leading role in the definition and dissemination of so-called Good Design, a concept that took shape in the 1930s and emerged with new relevance in the decades following World War II. This installation presents selections from MoMA's design collection that illuminate the primary values of Good Design as promoted (and disputed) by museums, design councils, and department stores. Iconic pieces by designers like Charles and Ray Eames and Hans Wegner are shown alongside more unexpected items, such as a hunting bow and a plumb bob, as well as everyday objects including an iron, a hamper, a rake, a cheese slicer, and Tupperware.
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Harmen Liemburg - Silk Screen Prints
A while ago I atttended a lecture given by a graphic designer from the Netherlands named Harmen Liemburg . His main focus of work lies in giant screen prints, which he produces for many different things including, invitations, adverts and stamps.
Having tried to do a four colour screen print myself, I was amazed att he amount of detail he managed to fit into his pictures and the accuracy of his production.
It was very interesting to produce some work myself using the media that Harmen works in, and then attend a lecture by him explaining how he got into it, why he enjoys it and actually how he produces the work. I love the fact that it is such a 'hands-on process' it allows room for human error, which can often produce happy mistakes. Also, because you are working so closely with the process and materials, with practice, you gain a greater insight into the process and are able to come up with more adventurous and creative ideas and ways of working which I really liked.
This is one of my favourite pieces of his:
More of Harmen's work can be seen at:
http://www.harmenliemburg.nl/list-.html
and you can also view the steps he takes to produce these immense silk screen images.
Having tried to do a four colour screen print myself, I was amazed att he amount of detail he managed to fit into his pictures and the accuracy of his production.
It was very interesting to produce some work myself using the media that Harmen works in, and then attend a lecture by him explaining how he got into it, why he enjoys it and actually how he produces the work. I love the fact that it is such a 'hands-on process' it allows room for human error, which can often produce happy mistakes. Also, because you are working so closely with the process and materials, with practice, you gain a greater insight into the process and are able to come up with more adventurous and creative ideas and ways of working which I really liked.
This is one of my favourite pieces of his:
More of Harmen's work can be seen at:
http://www.harmenliemburg.nl/list-.html
and you can also view the steps he takes to produce these immense silk screen images.
I'm Hungover
I was recently waiting for a tube in London and I am not normally inspired by the advertisments that adorn the dank walls fo the underground, but for once, i was intruiged by one advert that appeared to be about Baby Names...I wondered why this would be oni the London Underground and began to read. As I read the ad i found it quite humourous and clever as it dawned on me that it was for the Tate Britain. I have looked for the particular advert that I saw but I cant seem to find it, instead I have found this one to post:
(I shall provide links below as it is bad quality)
I thought it was clever how the subjects used on the posters vary to adhire to many different types of people, especially those who might not have previously considered going to the Tate because it seemed boring, once I realsied the ad was for a museum that i have a) been to and b) not enjoyed in the past, I didn't stop reading because the copy was fun to read. It made me think back to projects where we have been asked to produce a piece of work without using imagary and I have been baffled at how we are meant to achieve this. As the Tate is a gallery my first guess at what they would use on an advertisment would be a picture but this set of adverts just goes to show it is not necessary and could possibly sometimes work for the better.
It shows that in the right situations you do not have to use beautiful photogrpahy or interesting typography, an idea will suffice you just have to find the right avenue to steer it in.
http://www.scaryideas.com/content/454/
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/yourcollection/
(I shall provide links below as it is bad quality)
I thought it was clever how the subjects used on the posters vary to adhire to many different types of people, especially those who might not have previously considered going to the Tate because it seemed boring, once I realsied the ad was for a museum that i have a) been to and b) not enjoyed in the past, I didn't stop reading because the copy was fun to read. It made me think back to projects where we have been asked to produce a piece of work without using imagary and I have been baffled at how we are meant to achieve this. As the Tate is a gallery my first guess at what they would use on an advertisment would be a picture but this set of adverts just goes to show it is not necessary and could possibly sometimes work for the better.
It shows that in the right situations you do not have to use beautiful photogrpahy or interesting typography, an idea will suffice you just have to find the right avenue to steer it in.
http://www.scaryideas.com/content/454/
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/yourcollection/
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
A while ago I found an article in Creative Review about this website that Mercedes Benz had produced to create and interactive experience for the customer/ web browser.
http://sixjourneys.mercedes-benz.co.uk/r-class/home.php
I liked the way it captivates the audeience and takes them on six journeys before you might even realise it is an advert.
Other than this I like the organic nature of the design, the feel of the illustration is one I am a fan of. After working with students who were extremely creative and had a passion for creating things off screen, e.g. experimenting with different materials/papers/techniques I have become interested in illustrartion which shows this personal touch to it. From this I went on to research companies who I have noted in the past to let this more personal style of design shine through in their work.
One website I particularly liked was twopoints.net, a design firm in Italy which started in Italy in 2007 and, in their own words, 'with the aim to do exceptional design work. Work that is tailored to the client's needs, work that excites the client's customers, work that hasn’t been done before, work that does more than work.'
One of my favourite projects is the 'Golden Pig Project', as I think it combines good illustration with appropriate type and colours to create a nice tone of voice and add a sense of humor to the work.
More of this work can be found at: http://twopoints.net/en/project/the-golden-pig-project
But overall I was intruiged by their exploritory use of typefaces. They have designed their own innovative typefaces which I think adds to their knowledge of the use of more display type in every day work. I have always found Typography quite difficult and am often too cautious to use a more bold or experimental typeface but i really liek the work that this compant has done with them.
http://sixjourneys.mercedes-benz.co.uk/r-class/home.php
I liked the way it captivates the audeience and takes them on six journeys before you might even realise it is an advert.
Other than this I like the organic nature of the design, the feel of the illustration is one I am a fan of. After working with students who were extremely creative and had a passion for creating things off screen, e.g. experimenting with different materials/papers/techniques I have become interested in illustrartion which shows this personal touch to it. From this I went on to research companies who I have noted in the past to let this more personal style of design shine through in their work.
One website I particularly liked was twopoints.net, a design firm in Italy which started in Italy in 2007 and, in their own words, 'with the aim to do exceptional design work. Work that is tailored to the client's needs, work that excites the client's customers, work that hasn’t been done before, work that does more than work.'
One of my favourite projects is the 'Golden Pig Project', as I think it combines good illustration with appropriate type and colours to create a nice tone of voice and add a sense of humor to the work.
More of this work can be found at: http://twopoints.net/en/project/the-golden-pig-project
But overall I was intruiged by their exploritory use of typefaces. They have designed their own innovative typefaces which I think adds to their knowledge of the use of more display type in every day work. I have always found Typography quite difficult and am often too cautious to use a more bold or experimental typeface but i really liek the work that this compant has done with them.
Monday, 27 July 2009
whips and logos
I have just bough the book 'No Logo' by Naomi Klein which I am enjoying so far. It has some interesting thoughs on wheteher companies pay more attention to image than actual project and a very interesting chapter on the idea of 'cool' and how some companies employ 'cool hunters' to physically hunt out cool ideas from 'the street' and bring them to CEOs to bring into mainstream and, basically, destroy for those who first thought them up!
I also loaned a really good book from the library called 'Cracking the Whip' by Ralph Caplan, which is a series of short articles by a designer for various deisgn magazines. The artices are really funny and often very thought provoking, I would reccoment this to everyone.
I also loaned a really good book from the library called 'Cracking the Whip' by Ralph Caplan, which is a series of short articles by a designer for various deisgn magazines. The artices are really funny and often very thought provoking, I would reccoment this to everyone.
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