DR.ME

When DR.ME (collaborative creative name of Mark Edwards and Ryan Doyle) came in to their talk I was unsure of what was going to be present as their Twitter said they were preparing a 'talk'. Rumours were that they were going to present through Skype which would have been weird but what was even unusual was the way they actually did the presentation. Instead of doing the usual standing at the front and presenting work they had prepared an automated voice to explain their journey before and after university.

As usual lectures are voiced by the person from the company we tend to zone out after a bit but as this presentation was unconventional it kept me engaged and told me a lot about the duo. It told me that they were inventive, out of the ordinary and unique which is exactly what you need as a graduate. From the lecture the main idea that stuck to me was that if you try your hardest, don't get disheartened, network with designers and enjoy yourself whilst doing your work opportunities will slowly start to come up. This is proved by the fact that DR.ME had done so much within 7 month of leaving university.

Check their work out: http://www.dr-me.com/

Vaughan Oliver

When I found out that Vaughan Oliver was coming in to talk to us I was curious to see what his work was about and after looking at his work beforehand let's just say I was intrigued I instantly loved what I saw. His abstract images alongside the bright colours make his work unique to him. Two pieces that stood out to me were The Breeders: Pod Promotional Poster and the Pixies Minotaur box set. The promotional poster was just amazing, the colours were bright, attractive alongside an abstract image which just finishes the poster and makes it look beautiful to look at. The fact that the whole poster was done by staging the concept and taking photos just at the right time makes the final outcome more appealing and interesting.

The Pixies Minotaur box set caught my eye more for the book which you got with the set. The book has images in which are contrasting to each other but when placed next to each other they make sense. I really wanted to buy this box set just for the book as I was trying achieve the same effect with my connection project as I was trying to link two different images/objects together unnoticeably. However I didn't buy the book but I did find a book in the library which had similar images. His work challenges advertisers to revisit graphics, illustrations and complex poster work in ways that revitalise narrative, information and product possibility.

I found it interesting to hear how Vaughan creates moods through collaboration, he hand picks photographers for certain projects showing that he knows how to fuse each element together to create a piece of design. I loved how even after all these years Vaughan still speaks passionately about his work. 

Check Vaughan Olivers website out: http://vaughanoliver.co.uk/ It's under constuction but you can still view some of his work

Lucy May Schofield

Ok, I have been away a long time due to Uni deadlines but I think it's about time I caught up with myself!! 

When Lucy May Schofield ( A while ago!) came in to show off her handmade books, I was taken by surprise. I never knew that books could look so beautiful and this talk furthered my intrigue into bookbinding. Even thought Lucy makes lots of books she sees herself as more of a curator, giving herself the title 'Artist & Bookbinder'. She is inspired by her determined desire to make alongside a passion for the written word.  

Lucy showed us a range of beautiful books but what intrigued me most was the journey behind each book.  Two pieces that stood out to me were her readymade love letters and the raffle book. I think both of these are amazing little concepts which allow people to communicate, to my surprise these were created before social networking. These books were sold in Selfridges across the globe, from  London to New York and Dubai. As these were places abroad Lucy had to create a small box in which the books would be sold in as the books were small and fragile and could get lost. The idea of keeping handmade pieces in a box is a great idea as it keeps the object safe and it is easier to transport around. 

Another things that stood out to me was The Bibliotherapy Artist's Book Library (BABL), this consists of a modest collection of Artists' Books which Lucy has used for the 8 years to inspire other people to write, illustrate and make their own books through lecturing and teaching workshops. She wanted these books to exist elsewhere, to be discovered by strangers, live outside of the institutions. Allowing the books to breathe - no white gloves, no glass cabinets. 'Just me, a cabinet of artists' books, four wheels and the open road.' This stood out to me because it's a great way to allow other people see what has inspired you, it's also a way to make the best of the books you have. I really admire her ideas and determination to get her dreams out there. 

 

                        

H-57 Creative Station

Great use on typography by H-57 Creative Station!

Connection

For my a project which I've been working on for a few weeks I chose to focus on the word connection and see what outcomes would come out (similar to the static work)

After having a crit session this week we decided that the best experimental things that I had created was when I was creating physical connections with photos of electrical cables, plugs and anything electrical with a wire! Whilst doing this there were letters from the alphabet appearing and this is what was the strongest aspect.

So today I have been focusing on electrical letters...

These are just a few letters which have been created. I think they look pretty cool! I'm going to be creating 15 letters (A-O) as it gets a bit repetitive after a while. The next step is to trace the cables which connect together to created the letter...an example is shown before of the 'F'

David Gentleman

For over 40 years David Gentleman has been one of the country’s leading illustrators and graphic designers. He has worked extensively in book illustration, producing the covers for the Penguin Shakespeare series; in postage stamp design, revolutionising the way stamps look in this country; in poster design, working for the National Trust and also designing the ‘stop-the-war’ posters that were such a feature of the massive demonstrations against the war in Iraq. He also designed the Eleanor Cross mural that adorns Charring Cross Tube Station.

Currently there is an exhibition on at the MMU library which features the work of David Gentleman.This exhibition concentrates on Gentleman’s book illustration, drawing on MMU Special Collection’s extensive holdings of his work which is displayed alongside the artist’s own archive of working drawings, sketchbooks, photography and design layouts. However the exhibition also includes his work in other fields to reflect Gentleman’s strongly held belief that the common principles and practices of drawing and design apply across the mediums to which they are applied. I had been meaning to go for a while and was recommended to go to study the way David draws and adds colour to his work.

After looking at his work I could see that we share similarities in the way we draw. Trying to be as accurate as we can. I love the illustrations and freehanded work and the way the water colour has been added brings the illustrations to life. 

Marcio Kelmanson

Love the art direction of the pages in this the CD cover

More can be seen by clicking on his name: Marcio Kelmanson