Books

 

Creative lettering and beyond / Kirkendall, Gabri Joy,

A smile in the mind : witty thinking in graphic design /McAlhone, Beryl.

Font : the sourcebook /

New masters of poster design : poster design for this century and beyond.Foster, John,

Musigraphics : a collection of LP and CD art

The birth of stars and planets / Bally, John.

London Zoo : from old photographs 1852-1914 /Edwards, John,

By underground to the zoo : London Transport posters 1913 to the present /Riddell, Jonathan.

Swiss graphic design : the origins and growth of an international style, 1920-1965 /Hollis, Richard.

I heart design : significant graphic design selected by designers, illustrators and critics /

Pictographic index.

The big book of graphic design /

 

Tom Eckersley : his graphic work.

New masters of poster design : poster design for the next century / Foster, John,

Reasons to be cheerful : the life and work of Barney Bubbles /Gorman, Paul.

 

Evaluation – A Clockwork Orange book jacket

Despite this being the project I struggled with most, I was happy with the outcome. I was really interested in the idea of using milk (or a substance similar) to create text but I eventually knew how long it would take and how much time and patience it would acquire to do. I wanted the final piece to look good, but I knew it wouldn’t if I stuck with the idea of milk/yoghurt to create the text.

I was pleased that I only read the book and didn’t watch the movie as I feel if I did watch it I would be heavily influenced by it which is what I didn’t want. I wanted my book cover design to be original. I knew Stanley Kubrick’s film has a lot of iconic imagery and motifs and I didn’t want that to influence my decisions. I think my final decision in the type/font use wasn’t successful as initially I wanted to be more adventurous and playful with that element.

I like the simplicity and elegance of the book cover I designed as I feel it goes with Alex’ character; aggressive and thinks of himself as sophisticated. I’m glad I chose a serif and not a script font as I felt that would take away from the design and be too distracting and over crowded against the busy background. I like how I have only used Orange, black and white and have been able to incorporate the milk cartons into the book cover inside flaps.

I would definitely like to continue this project and would love to experiment further with unconventional materials to create text/font. I would have also liked to create a poster advertising the book as well as a bookmark.

Overall, I think this has been my least succesful outcome out of all the FMP’s. I struggled alot with trying to create something I really wanted to achieve (type out of milk) but I will definitely try to do experiment further and finally make it to a standard I am happy with.

Final pieces – A Clockwork Orange book jacket

Evaluation – London Zoo posters

I was pleased with the outcomes for this project as I know this is what I would like to go into one day and I am proud to put these into my portfolio. Even though I am happy with these pieces I still could continue them and push them further, especially with the text and typography used. Initially I wanted to try printing my imagery onto merchandise so if I was to progress this project further that is something I definitely would like to try.

I like the simplicity of the posters I have designed as well as how they work individually and as a set without looking too similar. I and many other people who have seen them believe the Snowdon Aviary poster is the strongest so if i was to pursue this project further I would bring what makes that particular design strong into the other posters. Throughout this project, I have discovered a love for poster design and I now know this is something I want to continue designing in the future.

For the exhibition I would like to display these posters as a set at a minimal size of A2, stuck to the wall without frames. I would also include a small description as to why I have chosen this particular aspect of the zoo as i believe the architecture isn’t automatically thought of when people think of London zoo. I am glad to have chosen to focus on the listed buildings as I believe it isn’t the most obvious thing to look at (the animals are) and it suits my skills and ways of working (shapes, line, colour etc rather than figurative).

Final Pieces – London zoo posters

Snowdon Aviary – Light, airy, bright, includes a drawing of the aviary made out of wire

 

Giraffe House – I included photos of materials found in the enclosure and the colour of the font is similar to the colour of the giraffe. I also made the imagery go off the top of the page to imitate something tall and out of reach.

 

Casson Pavillion – Dark colours to relate to the very dark surroundings within the enclosure. The enclosure is also inside which explains the black background and white cut out. Circle is the shape of the enclosure.

Mappin Terraces – There are many levels to the Mappin terraces, it covers alot of ground and goes very high which relates to the sections of materials. Its all outside with lots of grass and soil.

Penguin Pool – Still standing but has no penguins anymore. This is shown in the the cut out ‘Penguin pool’ text of the water (emptiness). Only colours in the enclosure is blue and white.

Evaluation – Album art

I am pleased with the outcome for this particular project. When I started I was a bit nervous as I had never designed a album before, but I was glad to pursue this piece as it encompasses all design elements. I had to think about imagery, layout, dimensions, practicality and type.

I was out of my comfort zone having to create so much imagery for the booklet and cover, but I’m glad I pushed myself as I now have a body of work that isn’t usually what I create that I am proud of. I was initially concerned that the imagery I created would end up all looking too similar, but I believe that there is enough difference without all looking separate.

Even though my design doesn’t look like previous album covers by the band, I feel this is ok and it still relates to the band and the music they create. I am pleased with the final outcome but if I was to have more time I would experiment further with type and imagery. I would have also liked to have printed on merchandise and tickets. I would have liked to make the final piece look much more authentic possibly by actually printing onto a cd rather than using a sticker.

Throughout the album booklet I included some imagery printed onto acetate and I would like to experiment further with printing on different materials.

Initially I was nervous about this project brief I had written myself as the amount of work it would require in such a short amount of time was daunting but I am very pleased with the final outcome and to put it into my portfolio.

Final pieces

For my final piece, It has taken me a long time to create the booklet, album and album disc sticker, so I will not be able to create a vinyl in time. I will definitely continue this project though as this is definitely something I am enjoying.

Digital album

Order of posters