15 Dec 2010

Final Project – Artist's Statement

For the final assignment of the semester I made greeting cards. I have a passion for simple cards that are generic enough to be used for multiple occasions. One element that I wanted to incorporate from the start was the aesthetic of mixed media. I started by printing the first letter of each phrase on cardstock with woodtype and the letterpress. I chose three different phrases, three different card sizes for each phrase, and three different colors for printing. I followed by screen-printing the remainder of each phrase with black ink.  My next step was to add imagery. For this, I used watercolors as a base and overprinted with a stamp print. The final step in my process was to add a touch of color and delicacy. I used diecut paper to trim the edges and sides of the cards.

I chose to use a monotone approach for the colors. I wanted the series to be cohesive but also have each element be unique and have individual qualities. The mixed media approach can be hard to tie together but I really like the way that each addition I made compliments the others. Using the letterpress is always an experiment but I like the quality of the print and the character of the woodtype in particular. While there are minor blemishes and smears, I think it adds to the handmade look of the cards. I can’t wait to use them this holiday season.

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8 Dec 2010

Final Project-Letterpress Triptych

I have a few ideas of how I want to approach this project. I want to make greeting cards with woodtype "initial caps". I want to incorporate other mediums such as screen printing and some sort of imagery perhaps with watercolors flowing across each piece when seen together. So far this is what I have for the basic design of the cards.

Cardsprelim-01

2 Dec 2010

Concert Campaign – Final Designs

Yesterday, the class presented their final designs to board members and contributers to the Rock Star Supply Co. Everyone did a really great job and it's was really cool to see all the different directions people went with the same project. Every team had great elements that they incorporated into their campaigns and, with minor revisions, any one would be successful if chosen and implemented.

For our campaign we chose to relate it to activism and politics as well as portray a sense of civic duty to the public. We used active colors such as red and orange on black backgrounds to show contrast and draw attention. For the background of our pieces we overlaid a distressed image of the constitution and incorporated related type elements into our poster. For our palm card we have a bottom portion that can be torn off and surrendered at the event for those who want to volunteer with Rock Star.  Our web page allows people to be directed to RSSCo's twitter and facebook as well as donate money and volunteer. We incorporated information about the event, the RSSCo and highlighted a few student stories documenting their experience with Rock Stars. The t-shirts we designed would be passed out at the event to the first 50-100 people. Posters would be put up around town as well as the palm cards in libraries, coffee shops, and different buildings around campus.

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17 Nov 2010

Concert Campaign – Update

We received some excellent comments from RSSCo board members and concert contributers today. We have a lot that we want to continue to work out but are pleased with the direction we are going. The main thing that we are concerned with is ensuring that we have a cohesive campaign that is exciting, inspirational, and evokes a sense of urgency among the public to attend the event and get involved. Increasing the volunteer base is an important factor in the RSSCo's agenda and therefore we want to make that option easy and accessible for the public on the website and at the event. We are taking a text based approach with the poster and hope that the electric mood will "spark" interest in viewers and get people to the event.  We are looking forward to making revisions and presenting our final campaign to the Rock Star Supply Co. soon!!

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10 Nov 2010

Concert Campaign – "We the Rock Stars"

Our concept for this project is a revolutionary, constitutional approach to helping students.  With the slogan "We the Rock Stars" we plan to address our audience directly and place the importance on the students right away. We want to stay consistent with the Rock Star brand and identity by incorporating the color balance (black, white and instances of vibrant color) and hierachy (large bold titiles, smaller subtitles). We want the main graphics to be bold but inviting and fun, also, similar to the brand identity but distinctively different.

Below, we have an image that inspired us in our concept, a few rough poster concepts representing the idea of school with the "apple headed" crowd and the simple nature of text and shape in the second example. The third is a rough palm card indicating that we want to do a perforated bottom for people to rip off and surrender at the entrance with their name and email if they want to volunteer (they will also be able to register online). And finally a simple tee shirt design intended for volunteers both new and old. Early next week will be collaborating as a group to narrow our concept and prepare for critique on Wednesday.

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4 Nov 2010

Informative Series Finals

Looking back on my process through this assignment, it is really interesting to see how much my series has evolved. When I started out I had some ideas that I thought would go really far and be the basis of my posters. It was really hard to let them go as things changed and my focus narrowed. Even my revised roughs and finals have a vast amount of changes made. All in all, I really like how the series turned out. The zoomed in kiwi poster is my favorite because I really like the suggestive nature of illustration and hoping that it reads "kiwi". Also, making the text of the other two posters act as seeds to the kiwi slice and dividing the page at a dynamic diagonal gives the series a cohesive look and add interest.

One limitation that I set for myself prior to starting the assignment was to use one pure hue, no tints or shades.  I though about breaking this rule a few times when brainstorming illustration possibilities. In the end though, I'm really happy that I stuck with it because I think it simplifies the piece and proves that it can be successful without it. I may still make a few changes so check back for another revision!

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26 Oct 2010

Informative Series Roughs

For my series, I decided to go with content that may be unknown to a large population of society; what kiwi can help with in regard to health and recurring aliments. This is a set of roughs that I presented to the class communicating my message. The setting for the series would be a school, either middle or high school. The "kiwi" poster could be found in a classroom or cafeteria. The "constipated" poster may be found inside a bathroom stall on the door. The "sough" poster would be placed in the nurses office or school heath facility. Each poster has an illustration as well as text to explain how kiwi can help with the sicknesses or ailments a person may be experiencing. From these I will make revisions based on the comments I have received such as: reducing the sized of the illustrations, revising text (placement and size), reorganizing the kiwi poster to unify the imagery through the series and  incorporating specific enzymes that contribute to the "healing process".

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13 Oct 2010

Informative Series Sketches

For this assignment, we are to develop a campaign around a single idea or theme. I am extending the concept behind my last piece on Kiwi. I have decided to develop a poster series to promote kiwi as a beneficial fruit that people should incorporate into their diet.  In developing visual representation for this theme, I was experimental in content and form. I did some research into what makes kiwi special and what aliments/diseases it helps with.  Mush of the information I found was new to me and so I have made an assumption that it will be new to others as well.

Sketch_series1

The top row of imagery is going off the this idea that kiwi isn't just a healthy fruit; it can help you with other health issues you are experiencing.

The second row of imagery expands on the idea of kiwi being green in color, but also referred to as "green" such as natural/unprocessed. Then i represented other green color foods that may be part of the "green" movement.

The third row of imagery resembles two characteristics of kiwi that I focused on earlier on the last assignment; affordability and portability of kiwi. Then I visualized how other friuts may also fall into this category.  The concept would be portrayed through typographic illustration and shape as fruit and text.

 

We'll see where it goes from here!

 

6 Oct 2010

Persuasive Poster Final

We critiqued our final designs today and it went really well.  For my design I practiced the art of reduction by looking closely at each piece of my poster and assessing its purpose and effectiveness.  This helped me see which pieces were necessary but needed work as well as which pieces were not essential to the success of the poster.  While going through this process I kept in mind my persuasive approach and tried to display my purpose as clearly as possible.  I attempted to relate the text and image of my design through placement and texture similarity.  This relation really assisted the unification my design and I am extremely happy with the result. Next you will see sketches for our next assignment which expands on our poster concept. In the meantime, eat kiwi (skin and all)!!!! 

Kiwi

 

4 Oct 2010

Poster Revisions

Based on the feedback I received from critique on wednesday, these are the revisions I have made. I experimented with portrait orientation and scale as well as text and placement. In order to convey my persuasive purpose, I re-evaluated my concept, main visual cues and supporting elements.  From these I will finalized my design and post it here soon!

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