FMP WEEK 6 (WC: 04/01/2021)
To progress on from last weeks work, I wanted to gain a source file of visual imagery that can inspire me daily to produce well informed work; this was suggested to me by a tutor that the best way to get into graphic design and art direction is to start collating the resources and inspirations i have found in a few documents or files to be able to search through and build up my own personal style, My chosen format to conduct this in was through Pinterest. Considering the clean format of the website, its accessibility for iPhone and easy to use design it seemed appropriate for me to be able to start my visual research journey with. I create monthly playlists of music that inspired me which I engage with all the time and therefore found that translating this into my professional approach to starting work would be very easy for me to get used to. So far this has really helped me in terms of a creative block; any time I’m feeling slightly lost on the project I note that it is usually due to a lack of visual research and inspiration for that day and go back to the Pinterest board while constantly adding new ideas and getting more inspired.
This way of working was taught to me on my Art and Design Foundation course. We were instructed to create tactile visual mood boards which change every week according to the journey of how the general project research was going to ensure it was kept up to date and relevant. Having the inspiration board on a wall that we have access to easily, such as by my bed could really allow myself to become immersed in my project and never miss an ideas as I would have an easy way to jot down notes and ideas by adding them to the wall, this could enhance my way of working and is therefore something I need to try out. Even me adding some posters from fashion and art magazines on my wall has allowed my personal working spaced to be transformed into a physical creative documentation of my interests and personality.
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As shown on the Pinterest board, a clear yet diverse style is beginning to become prominent through the repetition of certain styles which allow me to discover what to implement into my own design work. There is a sense of utopia, shown through the positive quotes and fairly-like, futuristic imagery, alongside a darker tone with a lot of dark hues being used and paired against contrasting tones, several futuristic designs and very contemporary graphics as well as unique layouts and ways of distributing typography to an audience. All of these design elements add a new dimension of research to my work which will lead me to continuing this Pinterest Board to enhance the research for my future FMP work.
These are two examples of the work I have created this week, all examples will be shown the sketchbook. In all honesty, I don’t think these reflect my best work during my FMP journey so far nor do I particularly like them however it is important for me to realise, especially working towards the final major project in my final year of university during a pandemic and national lockdown, that not making clear, objectively ‘good’, progress does not matter as long as I am constantly collecting inspiration and taking well needed reflective breaks from creating content to produce my blogs is progress to be proud of. It is even essential in my eyes to make work that is not as successful and analyse why in order to progress creatively and professionally as a designer.
The first image was created by combining existing collages to create as a background for the text which has always been inspirational to me, it was found in a magazine and is hanging by my bed and a point of reference for building my conceptual style of thinking daily. The blend used by the photo blending tools on Adobe Photoshop makes the text fade into the background and becomes a collateral part of the design, rather than standing out by itself,. Also the positioning of it is not engaging for a viewer, I need to put some consideration in the movement of the eye of the viewer as I have done so successfully in previous collages. Making me realise I need to reflect on what has worked positively in previous designs and keep that consistent in all future designs.
This second image was made using an image from UnSplash, which I added a gradient map on top, which I do find to be one of the successful parts of the image, however, the image of the person once again blends in too far with the background interest, maybe changing the colour and hues of the image to a more contrasting colour could enhance the design elements. In addition to this, I felt the whole image was fairly bland due to the lack of colour palette; the main colour is too consistent throughout the image with a lack of diverse colours, or even complimentary coplo9urs to add dimension. The distribution of the subject is also placed too evenly throughout the image; to refine this further, I could have spaced out the colour and considered the use of negative space to improve a creative layout. Adding some text on top to interact with the image could have pushed the poster further conceptually.
