Sunday 28 February 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Illusion and Dimension
I am about to embark on an exploration into the mathematical and philosophical theories of infinity. There are many paradoxical and barely imaginable concepts related to this field, and for my self-set brief I want to communicate the intellectual stimulation and disorientation that I felt when I began to explore infinity. When discussing the idea of infinity in relation to the universe, ideas are raised regarding parallel worlds and multiple existences. One angle argues that if we keep counting, we will eventually hit the highest number - a number so large that it can not be imagined -and subsequently reach zero again. We can visualise this as a journey around the world; you can keep on travelling endlessly across the circumferance of the planet but you will inevitably reach your starting point as you continue to move.
While considering imagery that can visually translate the theme of this idea, I turned my attention to visual and perspective illusion. While it is only a starting point for my visual exploration, I like how the interactive function of the image challenges the viewer to spend a bit longer with the piece and experience the unexpected.
While considering imagery that can visually translate the theme of this idea, I turned my attention to visual and perspective illusion. While it is only a starting point for my visual exploration, I like how the interactive function of the image challenges the viewer to spend a bit longer with the piece and experience the unexpected.
Tuesday 16 February 2010
Mabinogion Rough Work
The Mabinogion brief that is currently featured on my website has been developed and edited since the original piece was finalised. As it was a second year piece, there were improvements to be made in both image quality and typographic treatment. Although I am pleased with the revised visuals, I recently opened my original imagery and can't help but feel that something was lost in the translation of the update. The images are hand drawn and painted whereas the replacements are entirely vector rendered. For this reason, I wanted to feature examples of the originals which possibly have a more intruiging quality:
To see the updated imagery, click here.
To see the updated imagery, click here.
Visualising Sound
For a recent design investigation, I decided to express music visually. It is an interesting challenge as there are established images such as the equaliser and musical notes. If we want to avoid the cliche of these visuals, how do we translate the dynamics of sound on to paper? As a musician, I have a knowledge of sound production that I drew on to experiment with visualisation. Here are a few of my experimentational images; the type of sound represented varies with the appearance of the vector.
Saturday 13 February 2010
The Meat Market
2010 CSAD Degree Show
Fast approaching is the class of '10 design degree show. As a matter of course, our program leaders asked us to pitch our ideas for the show visual concept. In the past the theme has always been centred around the idea of growth or flourish... perfectly acceptable outcomes, yet not without a touch of the flaccid and drab. My group wanted to express the idea of the graduate show as a metaphor. An example that mirrored the experience in a both true and humorous realisation.
We observed that the show is essentially an arena where the graduates show what they can to gain approval and ultimately attempt to sell themselves. This idea of a transaction struck a chord with our group. We have been nurtured and guided as we have grown over our three year period at university to the point where we are ready to be introduced to the industry. The facilitation of the choice is down to the employers, who browse the show and offer to take on (or bid for) the desired student.
What better description of this series of events than the meat market? Where we compete in an arena based on merit and appearance showing the fruits of our education where we aim to gain recognition from the visiting industry.
Fast approaching is the class of '10 design degree show. As a matter of course, our program leaders asked us to pitch our ideas for the show visual concept. In the past the theme has always been centred around the idea of growth or flourish... perfectly acceptable outcomes, yet not without a touch of the flaccid and drab. My group wanted to express the idea of the graduate show as a metaphor. An example that mirrored the experience in a both true and humorous realisation.
We observed that the show is essentially an arena where the graduates show what they can to gain approval and ultimately attempt to sell themselves. This idea of a transaction struck a chord with our group. We have been nurtured and guided as we have grown over our three year period at university to the point where we are ready to be introduced to the industry. The facilitation of the choice is down to the employers, who browse the show and offer to take on (or bid for) the desired student.
What better description of this series of events than the meat market? Where we compete in an arena based on merit and appearance showing the fruits of our education where we aim to gain recognition from the visiting industry.
Friday 12 February 2010
Simon Page
Geometric Design
Simon Page is a self taught designer from a corporate design/ mathematics background. It is this foundation that inspired his brand of geometric modernist design. While the following examples have not been designed to communicate an idea, they are visually rich and sit very nicely on the page.
The treatment and rendering of the images looks great and really draws the eye. In spite of us being discouraged to value readability above the communication, it is still important to practice self initiated works for designer indulgence.
Simon Page is a self taught designer from a corporate design/ mathematics background. It is this foundation that inspired his brand of geometric modernist design. While the following examples have not been designed to communicate an idea, they are visually rich and sit very nicely on the page.
CSS Liberation
My new website has finally gone live, and the experience of building it has pushed my knowledge once again and challenged me to expand my design skills. It is not my first experience in designing for web using cascading style sheets, but it threw up additional learning opportunities nevertheless.
From my experience of browsing portfolio websites, there are several issues that I wanted to avoid. First on my list was the home page 'dare to be original' large underlined passage about how the student loves typography and clean layout, are exceptionally hard workers that; live design, were born for design! You get the idea.. we've all seen them before. It is not the copy itself that I refuse to endorse; it is the reality that the concept of this passage has been regurgitated by countless aspiring designers who contradict their claimed originality by the mere presence of this device. In recognition of this, I have parodied the appearance of the large underlined introduction and delivered the message as a pastiche. Should the quality of work on show not speak for the designer's interest and dedication?
Secondly, I have always looked more favorably upon vertical scrolling images of work that complete a section of the portfolio. While the single image with 'next' and 'last' arrows are fine, I personally find them less accessible than a straight list that portrays the work as once piece on one page. Having chosen this method of layout, I needed to find a solution to the problem of the work description. One perfectly logical location for the description could be the right hand column next to the images, which is exactly where I intended to put my copy text. From my experience however, I felt that by scrolling down and browsing the work, the description is no longer on screen if the viewer wishes to read again or clarify the rationale while they are lower down the page. This is an issue that I discovered first hand, and wanted to avoid.
My solution resided in the mysteries of java-script. I could create a div-tag with a fixed position when scrolling that never went out of frame. There are known to be compatibility difficulties with internet explorer version 5, but my target audience of designers and professionals are almost certainly going to run more sophisticated browsers, therefore I am aware that more commercial websites would need to use this technology sparingly.
The process of creating this website was an exercise in education, and a rewarding struggle. I feel that I have leaned considerably more about CSS, particularly through the 'special' task of acquiring a valid CSS certificate. Please visit and see what you think! link
From my experience of browsing portfolio websites, there are several issues that I wanted to avoid. First on my list was the home page 'dare to be original' large underlined passage about how the student loves typography and clean layout, are exceptionally hard workers that; live design, were born for design! You get the idea.. we've all seen them before. It is not the copy itself that I refuse to endorse; it is the reality that the concept of this passage has been regurgitated by countless aspiring designers who contradict their claimed originality by the mere presence of this device. In recognition of this, I have parodied the appearance of the large underlined introduction and delivered the message as a pastiche. Should the quality of work on show not speak for the designer's interest and dedication?
Secondly, I have always looked more favorably upon vertical scrolling images of work that complete a section of the portfolio. While the single image with 'next' and 'last' arrows are fine, I personally find them less accessible than a straight list that portrays the work as once piece on one page. Having chosen this method of layout, I needed to find a solution to the problem of the work description. One perfectly logical location for the description could be the right hand column next to the images, which is exactly where I intended to put my copy text. From my experience however, I felt that by scrolling down and browsing the work, the description is no longer on screen if the viewer wishes to read again or clarify the rationale while they are lower down the page. This is an issue that I discovered first hand, and wanted to avoid.
My solution resided in the mysteries of java-script. I could create a div-tag with a fixed position when scrolling that never went out of frame. There are known to be compatibility difficulties with internet explorer version 5, but my target audience of designers and professionals are almost certainly going to run more sophisticated browsers, therefore I am aware that more commercial websites would need to use this technology sparingly.
The process of creating this website was an exercise in education, and a rewarding struggle. I feel that I have leaned considerably more about CSS, particularly through the 'special' task of acquiring a valid CSS certificate. Please visit and see what you think! link
See What You Mean
We recently had the privilege of viewing a presentation lecture from Owen Johnson of See What You Mean studio, Cardiff. A charismatic talker with a an impressive slide show made for an insightful and worthwhile experience. While explaining the context of his graduation and arrival into the world of design, he enlightened us with some of the technological advances that the studio now deal in.
See What You Mean are now primarily a digital design service. They offer businesses strategy solutions for presentation that often take innovative and refreshing form. It was difficult to imagine their work as a more engaging form of power point presentation, but the benefits of the product lie in the ability to interest the audience in order to inform. There is no doubt that the design team from the studio are light years ahead in terms of digital software mastery, but it was the creative element that was showcased and emphasized as the most important skill a graduate can display.
Owen finished his talk by offering the opportunity to work in their office space. A chance to experience the working environment on a high-spec computer and witness first-hand the creative process of a successful studio. It is a shame that the space was offered to the entire year group, as there are some less prepared students that will benefit less from the experience but will no doubt apply nevertheless; adding to the plethora of applicants clogging Owen's inbox and junk folders. Despite this however, the talk can only have enriched our knowledge of the design industry and has personally inspired me to challenge my boundaries in the art of digital design.
See What You Mean are now primarily a digital design service. They offer businesses strategy solutions for presentation that often take innovative and refreshing form. It was difficult to imagine their work as a more engaging form of power point presentation, but the benefits of the product lie in the ability to interest the audience in order to inform. There is no doubt that the design team from the studio are light years ahead in terms of digital software mastery, but it was the creative element that was showcased and emphasized as the most important skill a graduate can display.
Owen finished his talk by offering the opportunity to work in their office space. A chance to experience the working environment on a high-spec computer and witness first-hand the creative process of a successful studio. It is a shame that the space was offered to the entire year group, as there are some less prepared students that will benefit less from the experience but will no doubt apply nevertheless; adding to the plethora of applicants clogging Owen's inbox and junk folders. Despite this however, the talk can only have enriched our knowledge of the design industry and has personally inspired me to challenge my boundaries in the art of digital design.
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