Casey Neistat [ Vlogs ]

Since the beginning of January I have made a habit of watching YouTube vlogger Casey Neistat's videos on a daily basis. They have made me feel much more motivated in my every day life, encouraging me to just get up and do what I love and create things for the world to see as well as getting involved in projects I wouldn't usually think of volunteering for. One of his mottos is 'Do More', reminding me that I can always push myself that bit further to achieve my goals and get where I want. His vlogs have also taught me lessons such as to get ahead in life you have to be an individual as well as that to progress as an individual you must never stop pushing yourself harder. Most importantly his videos have taught me that anyone can succeed in life with enough hard work and dedication.

Picture Book @ The Tetley [ Exhibition ]

Last Wednesday I went to the Tetley to check out their latest exhibition 'Picture Book' featuring work from the likes of David Barton, nous Vous and Christian Barnes, amongst a number of others. 

My favourite room at the Gallery featured the extensive and colourful range of books published by the artist David Barton. The colours were truly beautiful and worked so well as a collective, providing me with plenty of colour swatch inspiration for future projects as I usually struggle with forming a limited colour palette that doesn't consist of charcoal grey and white. I also loved the organic yet delicate nature of the line drawings featured in much of Barton's work. 

A close second favourite was the vibrant original art, prints and pages from Mould Map 1 - 4. Again I was inspired by the bold, contrasting colours and unusual graphics and illustrations, using a range of different media and processes. 

The simplistic shapes and bright colours in Nous Vous Collective's exhibition caught my eye in the gallery, reminding me of Jean Julian's work. I love how effectively simple shapes and line drawings can create bold pieces of work that have dramatic effect, which is one of the aims I'm trying to create in the project I'm doing for Secret7. 

Finally the film showcasing the making of the giant papercut book on the structure of all of the Lakes in the Lake District was really interesting to watch, however unfortunately we were unable to view the contents of the book first hand due to its fragility. I really liked the concept however and thought the results shown in the film were exquisite as the shapes of the interior of the lakes were really beautiful.  

Bill Cunningham New York [ Documentary ]

Bill Cunningham New York was a beautifully heartwarming documentary I watched recently exploring the humble life of veterinary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham and his everyday life in the Big Apple. Armed with just a bicycle and a film camera, wearing a torn up and battered blue rain mac, Cunningham effortlessly captures the vibrant and upbeat fashion scene of one of the most diverse and effervescent cities in the world, in the most raw and enchanting way possible.

Bill Cunningham, 86, is a fashion photographer who has worked for many of the elite fashion brands and magazines including Tribune and at Women's wear Daily, yet the documentary explores the process behind his regular articles in the New York times featuring the street style photography he takes on a daily basis of real people wearing real fashion. 

One of my favourite things about Cunningham is the simple lifestyle he leads whilst simultaneously being well loved by many of the biggest stars in the world. He continues to do his craft purely out of love and cares nothing for money or vanity, demonstrating the true passion he has for what he does. Cunningham lives for his photography and nothing else. 

The photographs he takes of people and the passing scene in the streets of Manhattan every day, focus on their genuine usage of clothing to express personal style. He takes all of his photographs on a film camera and scans them in digitally, vastly slowing down the production process for the magazine yet creating visually outstanding results.

He is truly an inspiration to all as he perfectly demonstrates the message 'Do what you love and love what you do' 

Flat Death: Edgar Martins & Jordan Baseman [ Exhibition ]

A few weeks ago I went to Liverpool and visited the Flat Death exhibition at the Open Eye Gallery on Mann Island. The exhibition which runs from the 15th Jan - 3rd April explores how we deal with death as a society and individually through a series of photographic projects by artists Edgar Martins and Jordan Baseman.

The Gallery presented 2 series of work side by side: 'Edgar Martins attempts to understand our relationship to death and photography's role in the process through a variety of images. Jordan Baseman's exhibition of memorial images sits within a long tradition of photography being used by families to remember their loved ones after they have passed.'

Overall I found the exhibition really interesting as although the subject matter was pretty dark and disturbing, many of the photographs were very unusual and aesthetically pleasing such as the decaying banana skin with the story of the deceased bee keeper and the bright pink photograph of a forest shot on infra-red film. The Photographs in the gallery are paired with suicide notes, forensic evidence and X-rays of fatal injuries creating juxtapositiob between the personal (what we choose to leave behind) and what will actually be left behind (a bloody rag, twisted car metal, rotten piece of fruit).

OUGD402 - Self Branding - Artist Inspiration and Idea Generation

Brainstorming Ideas - For my self branding I wanted to create a platform of some description that would showcase my preferred working style and let clients and potential employers know a bit about myself.

I wanted to keep my image, fun and light hearted while simultaneously showcasing my passion and talent for illustration and hand rendered details, as well as my love for brainstorming and generating ideas. 

These are a few potential ideas for the physical aspects of my self branding:

• Hexaflexagon - Inspired by Mulberry's AW ' 11 show, explore the potential of creating my own hexaflexagon containing information about me, using my own drawings and key things employers should know.

• A wrapper to hold a Burger - I loooooove burgers! A more quirky idea was to design some kind of wrapper/sleeve to slot a burger into so you don't get covered in burger juice. The outside would demonstrate my own illustrations and a funny slogan would be used on the back such as 'my designs are also this juicy' to show I don't take myself too seriously but simultaneously creating quite a memorable design. Also who doesn't love burgers?

• On the theme of punny slogans, designing the skin of an object in place of designing a business card would be both functional as well as representative. Using this approach would catch the attention of any potential employers / clients as hopefully they would keep/use the objects on a regular basis and carry them around with them. A funny slogan relating to both myself and the object would then be printed onto the item. Suitable objects may include pencils, lighters, matches etc. containing phrases such as 'I can always pencil you in' or 'why not spark up a conversation?'

• Another idea was a small fold out publication that could be a 'recipe for me' in the style of a cocktail making poster, showing elements of myself to potential employers / clients. 

• On a more straightforward note using a picture of myself and doodling over the top of would be a good way to put a name to the face, which I always like. This approach would also subtly highlight my interests in drawings combined with branding and digital design. 

• Another idea was an origami container similar to Ro & Co.'s design for Bodkin's fashion show. They made a paper invite and folded it so it contained a living air plant. My container would contain something like a mini pencil -relating to my drawing skills or a worry doll with the message "worried about your brief? Use this until I get there!'" Highlighting my passion for idea generation and creating .

• Finally, use the art materials themselves. Simply, use a piece of chipped artboard with paint on and digitally print my details on the back. This shows my passion for being hands combined with my digital know how and is simple yet aesthetic.

Here is an overview of some artists work that will help inspire me for this project: 

Promo & invitation card by Sarah Thorne Graphic Design for Mulberry AW11

Richie Velazquez artwork 

Ro & Co. Bodkin A/W '09 invitation

Coccorina - Cocktail Recipe 

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 2 - Self Reflection and Aims

Before I start on my self branding project I must first reflect on where my passions and strengths lay with being a designer. This is crucial in identifying the areas that make my work unique and also in focussing my sights on a design path I want to follow and build upon. 

Despite only deciding I wanted to do Graphic Design a year ago I feel like I have come a long way already in starting to understand the vast array of design possibilities that come with studying the subject. It is for this reason however that I am not particularly confident that I have found my niche yet.

I am much more confident with a pen and paper in my hands, sketching ideas, drawing mock-ups and brainstorming. Drawing has been my number one passion for as long as I can remember and I am extremely confident in my drawing ability. I also love painting, collage and making prints and stamps - basically anything tactile. This is an element that I think I would be able to draw upon in my work to creating a unique selling point. 

In terms of graphic design however I enjoy bright, colourful 2D design mixed in with hand rendered elements such as hand drawn typography and illustration. I also like packaging design and branding.

There are the areas I'm aiming to draw upon in this brief, perhaps creating a business card or some form of packaging to showcase my selling points as a young designer. 

For this brief I aim to create an image that:

• Showcases my passion and talent for drawing / paining/ making.
• funny / witty element that will make me memorable as a designer/ prove I don't take myself too seriously.
• combines my interest in illustration / hand drawn typography with unique but clean design.

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 2 - Brief

The Brief - 'Design, develop and produce self branding that effectively communicates and promotes you as an individual, designer and learner. To inform your design decisions you should reflect upon your learning aspirations and design direction. You should aim to communicate the context of your interests by referencing specific designers, studios, principles and audiences where necessary.

You should use this brief as an opportunity to explore, develop and demonstrate content, processes and areas of design that interest you at this point in time and may indicate your emerging creative concerns in Graphic Design'.

This brief is going to be a challenging one for me as it is extremely personal and all the design work will be based on my evolving practice as a young designer. I will have to discover my preferred areas of design and start to consider what design aspects I like to specialize in, finding a unique selling point about my work. The brief also requires me to visually represent myself by creating my own style of brand that suits the way I like to work.

Additionally the deliverables for this brief are my own choice. So long as the requirements are met I can choose what pieces of design to produce that will best represent me and my developing practice.


These are the essential targets that must be met for the project:


• Select or modify a typeface to used to display your name.
• Colour swatch.
• Typeface (display and body copy)
• Presentation template (grid)

These are also questions I need to refer back to throughout the duration of this project to enable my self branding successfully covers all these topics.

- Who are you now? 

- What have you learned? 

- What skills do you have?

- What do you know? 

- What do you believe? 

On top of this I must also consider:

-What information do you need to include? 

-What formats can you use to effectively communicate or promote this information? 

-What tone of voice best reflects you, your practice anf your ambitions?

-What experiences have shaped your opinions and views both in and outside of the programme?

-What are your creative concerns, opinions and beliefs and how do you communicate these practically, conceptually a practically?

- What has informed these decsions and who are the contextual references that reflect your individual focus?

- What is 'Brand You'? Your visual identity will help tie the information together. 

- What fonts, formats, colours and production methods will help communicate and enhance your content.