OUGD401 - Beauty, Style and Taste

We had to collect 6 images: two that involved just type; two that were just image, and two that included both. We had to like and dislike one of each. 
As a group we wrote down the things that we like and dislike in graphic design:

Like
Illustration
Handproduced
Skill
Choice of Type
Precise
Colour
Layout
Distinctive
Legible
Professional
Sophisticated
Harmonious
Clean
Modernist
Balanced

Dislike
Boldness of Colour
Mismatched type
Easily done/low standard of quality
Illegible
Cheesy
Style of Illustration
Generic
Cluttered
Chaotic
Garish
Unclear

We then had to pair up with someone in the class, and Laura was my partner. Then we had to swap the examples we bought in with each other, and write down on the back of them what aesthetic qualities we thought they had. We then compared what we thought.

We then wrote down a list of 10 aesthetic rules:

1. All design must be professional 
2. You should never use more than three fonts
3. All design should be legible
4. Use appropriate colours which correspond with the content
5. Maintain simplicity
6. Ensure design has a clear message
7. Always consider your target audience
8. Make sure text and image relate to each other
9. Use appropriate stock according to your method of distribution
10. Align your design to create the highest visual impact

We then chose three rules each and wrote them on a post-it note, mine were:

1. Use appropriate stock according to your method of distribution
2. Ensure design has a clear message
3. All design should be legible

Now we have these, I have to pick three examples of Graphic design that fulfill each of these aesthetic rules:

Use appropriate stock according to method of distribution

Snoop Dogg's Smokable Book

This book features all of Snoop Dogg's lyrics inside, and was designed to be smoked after reading - the pages are rolling papers, with non-toxic ink used. They are also perforated, so they can be easily taken out. The spine of the book is a striking surface, so you can light a match on it. The stock this book uses is one of a kind, and the concept behind the materials is very clever making it very desirable to Snoop Dogg fans. 





eBay Box

These boxes were designed to make shipping more eco-friendly, and are made out of 100% recycled material as well as using water based inks. The illustrations are green, which is associated with eco-friendliness and are friendly to encourage people to re-use them. They are simple and clean, which makes them appealing to people, and reduces the stigma that is surrounded by re-using things. It says that if they are re-used five times it could save up to 4000 trees, 2.4 million gallons of water and and save enough energy to power 49 homes for a year. It is important that these boxes are made out of sustainable packaging because so many are sent out to homes each day, and there is no way of not using any packaging to protect the contents.






Blue Marble

Throughout this identity, the blue marble logo is used on the packaging, t-shirts, sign and flyers, so to continue it onto the windows, it has to be printed onto transparent material. This is so customer's can still see into the shop, and design still looks clean and professional. 








Ensure design has a clear message

Network Rail Olympic Signage


These temporary signs were used during the Olympics so that people could find their way more easily - they are noticeable because of the bright pink colour which is used, and associated with other aspects of the London 2012 brand. The Olympic logo is used, as well as the signs which are featured throughout the railway stations such as arrows and station logos. This makes it clear to people that the Olympic directions can be trusted, because it has the same visual characteristics as the network rail identity.

Winter Cabin Collection

Pillows are designed to be slept on, and the text and image on this pillow relates to that directly. It is a known fact that bears hibernate, so to have an illustration of a sleeping bear and the words 'hibernate' together relates to the function of the pillow. Hibernating is also done in the Winter, and since this collection is called 'Winter Cabin', a bear represents the brand well too. 

Urban Organics

Urban Organics take vegetables grown on a farm directly to the city so that people can buy fresh, organic vegetables directly. The simple colour scheme and shapes reflect different vegetables, and the simplicity of the design reflects the concept. The message is clear, as the product being carried is shown in the illustrations, and the authenticity is shown in the words 'Keep It Real'. 

All design should be legible

Evoke

This is branding for a coffee shop, Evoke. These menus are very clear, using a simple but bold colour scheme, and the headings being bold so that they stand out against the white stock. The information is in a very clear font, using what seems to be a monospaced font, making it easy to read and digest. Because there is no illustration where the bodycopy is, there are no distractions, and the clean layout makes it easy to understand.

Metric

 The logo is legible because the type and image work well against each other. The image and type work well together with metric being a measurement, and a ruler being something you measure with. Each letter is placed underneath a lengthened cm mark on the ruler, giving enough distance between the image and type to make it legible. Because the background colour is bright yellow, there is limited text in black, keeping it simple.



Jon and Alecia

This wedding invitation uses bold lettering and numericals to emphasize the significance of the information. On the bottom image, speech bubbles and arrows are used to contain information of the schedule, and provide a visual order. This is legible because we understand arrows as directions, so provides a chronological order. By keeping the design monochrome, the bold design is easy to understand without being too chaotic.

Now I have to find 5 examples of non-graphic design for each of these aesthetic rules:



Use appropriate stock according to method of distribution

Casa Batllo

Gaudi designed the exterior and interior of this house for the Batllo family, and it is now a museum. It is incredibly unique, and unlike other houses, has a wavy shape and is decorated with ceramic and glass mosiac pieces, making it extremely colourful. The roof is in the shape of a dragon's back, with blue scales covering it. There are wrought iron pillars to help support the structure and stained glass windows which filter light. By using all of these materials he has created something iconic and beautiful, and extraordinary.

Toilet Paper Installations

These installations are made out of toilet paper, taking old, mundane house objects, and turning them into what some people call 'beautiful work of art'. It isn't a traditional material for creating art, but it is considered to be creative and fine art. 

Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer taught at the Bauhaus, and created this modernist chair made out of one piece of tubular steel. It is incredibly practial, and the Bauhaus' aim was to create affordable products ready for mass production, so that it was accessible for everybody, so fits in well with their ethos.












Lomography

To create an effect like this without using Photoshop, you need a lomography camera which have colour filters, multiple lens, double exposure buttons and other simple tools to create different effects like this. Using expired film also helps to alter the colours of the photographs. They are very popular at the moment, with the iPhone app Instagram mimicking the style that lomography achieves.











Leonid Afremov

These paintings by Afremov are used with oil paints, and the only way to achieve the effect that he creates is by using a palette knife to sweep the paint on, rather than using paintbrushes. This technique uses a lot of paint because it is applied on thickly. He uses them to create very bright, impressionist paintings.

Ensure design has a clear message

Lacoste Advert

This advertisement shows someone folding a Lacoste shirt, which transforms into a perfume bottle. It is very clever and simple how the product is achieved at the end of the advert, and although it is known to be a clothing brand, this shows that it sells other products too. It has a very clean design.







Samo

Samo was a grafitti name, which used to be used through the 7os and 80s in New York by Jean-Michael Basquiat. He targeted his messages at art students a lot. This particular message critcises the artists who think of themselves as avant-garde, and look down on others.







Margaret Bourke-White

Bourke-White worked for LIFE magazine, and took this photo during the Great Depression, and shows juxtaposition between reality and dream. The advertisement behind shows the 'perfect' American family, living the so-called American Dream, a lifestyle that so many people aspire to live, but in this case proves it might not even exist, as there is a queue underneath it of African-Americans lining up for food after the Kentucky flood, which left a million homeless. It shows that you shouldn't believe everything you read.


Harry Benson

This photograph of Caroline Kennedy sends a clear message to the viewer that this is her wedding day, as she is in her wedding dress and holding a bouquet of flowers. The setting is idyllic, and is surrounded by greenery and sea suggesting a perfect day. The smile on her face also shows the audience how happy she is to be getting married, and what a positive experience it will be for her. The whole image looks incredibly natural and candid, reflecting on the naturalness of their relationship.


Paper Pop-Ups

Mengyu Chen designed these for a pop-up back, and the concept is clear that if you push and pull the tabs at the side, the hand will open and the plane will fly. It is a simple concept, but an effective one because it works so easily.







All design should be legible

Baylor Street House

I decided to label this interior design as legible because the materials have not been covered up or painted over, so you know that it is wood which the walls, ceiling and floor are made up of. It seems very natual, and the windows and skylight bring in a lot of natural light meaning that the bedroom is more legible to people because everything is visible.












Kent Rogowski

This photography by Rogowski is a collage of self help books, which all feature the sky and rainbow on the front cover. They are all so similar, and the sky and rainbows are associated with freedom and happiness, so is recognisable to the viewer what they are.

Daniel Kornrumpf

This embroidery by Kornrumpf is incredible, because even though it is only thread what makes up this image, it looks like a person, and has all the features and colouring of someone. This makes it legible, because you could recognise the person if you had a photograph of them to compare it with. The texture and strokes of the embroidery make it visually engaging.

Shawn Smith

These sculptures are made up of small wood blocks, and even though this is not a fox, we accept it as being a sculpture of a fox because of the shape and colours of the wood blocks. 














 
Leonard McCombe

This photograph shows a boy whose Mother took the drug Thalidomide, as it was shown to help with morning sickness, but caused birth defects in many children. This child is using a device which helps him to hold a pencil. Even though there is no writing on the image, we can guess that because he is sat on a table with other children who are writing, he is probably in a school environment. We can read it is an image, even though there are no words, making it legible. Because it is a clear image, with a range of tones and a crispness to it, it is easy to understand.