My lecture notes

I had no paper in a recent lecture but had a marker pen and a banana. Job done

My big posters

I arranged and printed three A1 posters of my 'little creations', I wanted to see then up on a wall rather than hidden in a sketchbook so here they are. I like the way they are arranged and with the 'robot' poster in a grid. They look organised and and at the same time a huge mess of my ideas. I again had the helping hand from my photographer friend Ed. "Cheers Ed!"

Adrian Shaughnessy

We had the pleasure of having a lecture from self taught all round creative Adrian Shaughnessy. It was more of a talk than a showcase of his work. He discussed what his book was about, which is what it takes to be a Graphic Designer. My attention was kept constantly throughout the lecture as it is an issue I am dealing with during my final stage of third year. He broke down the criteria he feels are what defines a good designer. These were cultural awareness, integrity and communication. He went into each subject with great detail, explaining what he meant by these three catorgories. He also mentioned you without question need talent, something expected on a design degree course.
The lecture made me question what my abilities were like in these areas. I can sometimes struggle with expressing my idea, whilst in my head I know exactly what I am trying to say. Practice makes perfect. It is vital to have this ability as the client needs to understand every aspect of your work.

This was a different lecture to previous but in no way less valuable, more academic and informative. Vital information for me to know when approaching agencies and studios.

My A to Z

This is 'My A to Z' based on nothing but my weird imagination. Its not based on any subject, the letters don't correspond with the image in any way other than shape, kind of. I just wanted to create a ridiculous typeface. I want to do a fingers typeface after seeing the 'F' character. Let me know what you think.

Horatio Caine Pulp

I was asked again to do a simple illustration for the upcoming issue of Pulp magazine the MMU student rag. It was again a simple profile image of a celebrity, Horatio Caine of CSI Miami. I knew who he was but not seen his work. I was told he is painfully serious as the character in CSI constantly giving cliff hanging one liners. My friend Matt is putting together the issue and said he liked the 'faces of music' illustrations I created a while back. This is what I came up with.

George Mitchell

I was introduced to the work of illustrator George Mitchell. He is still a student studying Illustration at Lincoln University. He shows a great ability to use texture and pattern to create a stunning style which is fresh and contemporary. I was interested in his range of ideas. The random and alternative seem to be his preferred choice. It seems he enjoys to illustrate the weird characters he thinks up similar to how I like to work. Picking things from the world we live and creating an alternate world of the weird and wonderful. It is nice to know I am not the only one.

Robots photoshoot

Today was a good day. I finally took a good step forward with my 'Robots' brief. I had arranged with a friend to work with me to take some photos of my little creations. I set some scenes up for my cut out 'Robots' to be shot in. We worked together using both my ideas for scenes and perspectives and Ed's expertise in photography and the technical stuff. ( http://www.edwud.com/ )

The first scene represents the craft and interactive qualities of my idea. (to get families involved in recycling.)

I then created a range of scenes to get some nice images which contains depth of field and interesting perspectives. I wanted the characters to appear to be communicating and working together.

I then worked on introducing items of litter which could be recycled. Here is where I feel the idea was at its clearest.

The sixth image is represents the regimental idea that the characters are apart of an army of helpers, organised and controlled.

I will now be working into the images layering up type and shapes to create the advertisements for the recycling project.

Jonathon Barnbrook lectures 21/4/09

Today we had the pleasure of having not one but two lecture/talks from the well established designer Jonathon Barnbrook. He was incredibly captivating and at times hilarious. His 'no bullshit' approach to the lecture made sure the attention of every person in the room was kept. He was full of interesting anecdotes from his time working with the likes Damien Hirst and David Bowie.
What was even more interesting than the big names in his stories was his actual advice. At times going against the advice we are used to hearing, he talked about personal choice, moral obligations and the power of opinion. He reminded me of some of the most important reasons I am in design and love it so much. He talked about how he has a human moral code which determines what clients he will work for. He gave the example he was doing work for adbuster when 'Coke' came calling for his work. As he was at the time making an example of the consumer brands which shape are world with adbusters, he felt it would be hypercritical to work with them even with the tempting large pay checks.
He showed us a sample of his work which showed he clear interest in world issues, human right and other social issues. He has an incredible skill for creating typefaces and graphic compositions. He was extremely inspiring and at times controversial. I loved it.

He second lecture was more personal. He took the chance to take us all back to basics. Teaching us the rules we may have overlooked. He told us you cant create a successful design unless you have fully understood the problem of the brief. He took us threw a power point presentation to look at the stages of breaking down the brief and not just running to the end creating a basic design outcome. The advice was very constructive, I will take it on board and use it to improve my designing skills.

More illustrations for simon

Here are a few more illustrations I have drawn for Simon and his surfing project. He described some figures he wanted drawing up and also a view of a classic looking van used by surfers to the beach. Simon liked the initial style of illustration, sketchy and rough feeling it contained the right emotions and energy. I need to refine them further.

Job done....so far

This is a ASOS brief trying to promote the online shopping store to men. I wanted to create a voice in the work to appeal to men. I came to the conclusion a large proportion of men dont see shopping as a luxury but more of a hassle. I haven't been happy with the project so far, it is becoming a difficult design problem. I have explored colour and shape to see if I can create a style which works. I have also worked on creating some interesting copy to sell the brand to men.

My Jordans

I was thinking of all the things I love and my AJ1 Jordans were quite close to the top of the list. They are a stunning example of great trainer design and have stood the test of time. I started to sketch them and some of the detail on them. They were sketched with a fineliner and coloured with marker pens.

Hand drawn type

I constantly practice creating my own typefaces both digitally and by hand. These are a selection of bold hand drawn typefaces. I wanted them to be quite sketchy to show a more human voice. They are going to be used in upcoming designs for my 'Monsterboy' project. 

Hey diddle diddle...

I wanted to create some hand drawn type to illustrate the nursery rhyme. I was influenced by the work of Andrew Rae and Luke Best of the Peepshow Collective. I kept the piece two colour to keep it simple and clear. It flows down the page as you read it. A full colour piece would be too busy and distracting. Let me know what you think.

Luke Best

Luke Best is a creative, multi-disciplined illustrator/designer. I came across the work of Luke Best as he has worked with Andrew Rae who has been a strong influence on my work. I was particularly interested in the type work. The hand crafted style is very creative and shows a stunning range of skills and ideas. His work is inspiring and shows a number of similarities to mine. See more of his work at www.lukebest.com 

10 Things you should know about playground games.

This is a project I worked on last term. It is an idea for a short book looking at the games we played in school and all the rules they came with. It was a fun project with a focus on illustration. I wanted a simple style of illustration like the doodles you would see in the back of school exercise books. 

Work experience at Sony Liverpool.

Last year I had the opportunity to get some work experience at SCEE (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) in Liverpool. I had one week in November 2007 and two weeks in February 2008. The first was a great adventure as I was inexperienced on Adobe Illustrator and was dropped in the deep end being asked to generate logo ideas for an upcoming game called 'Wipeout HD'. I was happy to be told one of my logos had made the final cut. It was used for a logo for a level on the game called 'Chenghou Projects'. 

The second placement in February 2008 was also a great learning experience, developing my digital abilities on the adobe creative suite and also getting further experience to how a design team communicates and finds the creative solutions to design problems. During the second placement at Sony I worked on creating logos again but for another Sony computer game called 'Motorstorm 2'. I generated a large body of work during the hectic 2 weeks which shows I was comfortable in the studio and looking to improve and develop as a designer. I created the 'Kannibal tyres' logo which I was told was a tyre company making rugged off-road tyres. The logo is to represent its power and ferocity. 

Dead Man's Shoes

My personal favourite from the Shane Meadows collection. It has an epic performance from Paddy Considine with a truly chilling story of a man coming to terms with the loss of his brother and the revenge of his brothers abusers. It is a great masterpiece. As well as an incredible piece of directing from Shane Meadows and an unforgettable performance from Paddy Considine it is interesting to know the pair share the credit for writing the story of a troubled brother returning to town to get even with those who wronged his deceased brother. Other great performances came from Toby Kebbell and Garry Stretch.