more image inspiration...to early ideas for map

The top of the honeycomb pattern reminds me of the top of a house. Honeycomb=hive=home. I started to use that as the interlocking shapes of the foreclosure/families on the street map. This is just an early idea dump. The color orange feels like a home color to a grey which feels like the transition to loss. Loss of home/job/living in the car/a place to call your own.

focus for mapping: families on the street.

Here is another map image that looks a lot like the mind map I scribbled in class today. I love collecting images when I'm beginning to work on a project. The more map "like" images I see helps to visualize the map of the data I'm collecting. I found this image on this website. All hail Pentagram! The work is amazing.

Further research concludes that the housing foreclosure crisis has created a deluge of families that are now homeless. Portland is included in several articles that having an unusually high percentage of entire families living on the street or out of their car. I started a mind map in class today of the families on the street in relation to the foreclosure crisis. I am currently looking over this document for information.

begin research..everybody needs shelter.

A few links for mapping info:

1. This one is really full of stats and info.

2. This one is county and policy based.

3. This one has interview. Personal story.

reaction 2. meredith davis

My initial reaction to her keynote was that it lacked very little cohesive structure. I had to re-read the article several times and it still could not understand the points she was trying to make. In the end I just thought of my own design education thus far.

What kept popping up in my head was the thought, 'What does the client want?" This, to me, is the mantra of graphic design as a profession. Now, how does a school go about teaching that as a complete curriculum and still address the my other mantra which is "Design is not happenstance."

I believe that the two mantras go along hand in hand. When you find out what the client wants you take to the task of finding out what is in their best interest based on research, thumbnails, sketches and such. This is where "Design is not happenstance." steps in. In a world where any image or photo is available in an instant, today's graphic designer must have had the educational background to be able to have the vision to begin to pull the project together. This means as a student it is imperative to learn the reverence of graphic design history, the importance of process as a discipline, how to utilize the technical operations (Adobe) and the ability to make thoughtful choices.

I am a transfer student from Lane Community College. The two year program shone in many ways. Most importantly I was taught by almost all my teachers that graphic design is primarily a service industry. During my tenure at an internship at a graphic design firm this last summer that was made very clear. I was set up to work on a logo/branding project for a non-profit agency. I had to meet with the client(s) and skillfully marry their ideas (not designers) and mine (the designer). This means being flexible and to create a slight of hand maneuver that says to them you're listening to my ideas and for myself the room to create good design. This would have not been possible had I not have had that background education of technical,marketing and artistic skills.

This is my first term at P.S.U. To date I'm not sure what I think of the program. Quite frankly, I don't feel like I've had sufficient instruction. I do not mind researching on the Internet and looking for outside sources to make what ever project I'm working on successful, but that does not take the place of a teacher coming to class to teach. To me this means lectures, examples, in class exercises and constructive crits. I must say that last weeks crit on the fashion project was much better than my other classes where the entire class just sits and stares at the crit board as the teacher repeats, "Does anyone have feedback or comments?" Cue the crickets chirping in the background.

The only links I could think to post for this reaction were a very small sampling of design history I learned in my classes that I use for reference in my work today. In my history classes we did not spend time just studying these particular designers/schools of design and the images they created, but we also looked extensively at their design processes. This is what I kept as a component of feeling successful in my design life. 

bauhaus

swiss!

mr. rand

Plus this movie. It forces me to really look very closely at typography.

wonderfully opinionated designers galore!

This list could go forever and is quite varied but in terms of education these links made a big impact. I frequently refer back to the images/designers on this list.

project 2. thinking about the concept of a map...

Mapping. You are here and you wish to be over here. Or, how does this point on the map relate to that point. It is both literal and figurative.

The first image is from this collage artist.

And i can't not think about the great massimo vignelli concerning the topic of maps. [The image at the top.] His maps of New York City's subway system are beautiful. I would hang them on my wall as well as use them to get around.

project 1. to sum up...

[Please refer to previous posts for the evolution of the handbill, program, dress image and sketches.]

Number one was rejected because it did not have enough texture for fashion. Luke:" It looks like a skin care line for women." Point taken. Number two was better but the button holes were too big and the orange color was too autumnal and not spring-like.
With the third and final phase I made the color part of the leaves stick out a bit more and made the button hole a cream color which softened the logo and the cream looked better against the brown.

The colors for the final logo became the basis for the entire branding project. I used this logo and variations on this for the program, handbill and banner and mini-catalog.The dress was a added image I made for this particular show since they had said they were featuring mostly dresses. The logo text that I did felt a bit thrown together. If I had more time I would have worked longer to develop a type that feels more creative.

This project was at once maddening and a learning process. It was nice to take on a challenge of a really quick turnover. And I was amazed by my groups ability to pull together a fairly cohesive branding considering we had extremely varied design ideas in the beginning. I think this was the information we were given on the parameters of the branding as a whole was quite thin. Because the project had the potential to go in a million different directions this added to the design stress for me, personally. I do feel each piece could use more fine tuning which did not seem quite possible with the short time frame and and not enough crit during class time. I only mention this because this project is for a real event and is going to be judged by a panel to determine the winner. I guess I'm not used to presenting a product that isn't quite fleshed out. Luke did point out that the panel knows we only had a small time frame within to work and this was not to be a finely tuned polished presentation. That communicated I feel even better about our groups presentation.

Here are some links where I found inspiration for the project:

simple

stig lindberg

andy goldsworthy

huset

twig

simply olive

here is the banner and a mini idea...

I thought it would be fun if the event offered a "mini-catalog" to hand out at the show. Each page is only 3" square. You can tuck it into your pocket. The top image is the inside. The bottom front/back. Just as an example I did two tee shirt designs, but the catalog could offer more styles/fashions. I like mini. A mini catalog is like an interesting form of a business card.

and now for something completely different...

I saw this image and it made me laugh. It was nice to take my mind off this crazy fashion project. The creation is by Saul Steinberg Art can be created anywhere. Ha! Now back to the brochure. Revisions posted below.

Revisions: Brochure Front/back

I added the masked out city-scape that Sean created. Dare I say this, but I think this spread could quite possibly be called finished at this point. I'm still tweaking the inside, but it is close to finished. Although, I haven't printed at Kinko's. I'm hoping I have set the opacity levels so they don't print too light or too dark. One can never tell. I open the floor for comments...Merci.

brochure in progress...

I've been working on the handbill and brochure all day. The top images is the inside spread the bottom front/back. I had some printing problems at Kinko's with the inside spread. The texture was printing all weird. I feel weary. Back and forth to Kinko's. It's 5:18pm now and I can't walk to Kinko's again. Too far! I'll print in the morning before class.

Handbill idea...front/back. The colors look better in print than on this blog image.

Sketches continued...basis for new images posted below...

Homework: Reaction to Bruce Mau

I'm always on the lookout for creative inspriation and the Bruce Mau list had some that I thought were quite good. Lists such as this one remind me of potential creative warm-ups. Pick a number that speaks to you and allow it to stretch, invigorate and get the blood moving. I made a note of #9 Begin Anywhere and #6 Capture Accidents. Several that had little to no meaning to me. Such as #27 Don't Read Left Hand Pages and #24 Avoid Software. I say do not avoid software. But try to make the software programs that are available to everyone your very own. Explore your style. A friend once remarked that every musician has access to the same Fender Stratocaster guitar but think of the guitarists that have created their own sound. You hear their sound and you know right away who they are. 

I do find that when I find inspiration in unexpected places they tend to have more of an impact on me. Here is the "secret" according to Max Fischer from the movie Rushmore. And here a movie where I always find process inspiration. As well as this documentary Man on a Wire. Check it out.

#3 (Process is more important than outcome) stood out the most because I have several quotes from various artists that elaborate on a variation of that idea and I have to remind myself of that theory quite often. I thought immediately of a scene from a favorite TV show called Northern Exposure:

Chris: "All right, you've got a very basic problem, Holling. You're confusing product with process. Most people when they criticize, whether they like it or hate it, they're talking about product. Now, that's not art, that's the result of art. Right? Art, to the degree of whatever we can get a handle on and I'm not sure we really can, is a process, right? Begins here (points to head) and with these (points to eyes). Picasso said, "The pure plastic act is only secondary. What really counts is the drama of the pure plastic act. That exact moment when the universe comes out of the self and meets its destruction."

Holling: "Uhh, well, I'd still like people to like my paintings."

Chris: "Right, yeah, of course. But the thing we gotta do with you, Holling, is get your ego out of the product and put it back in the process."

some more ideas...any text/type is just filler for now. we can incorporate sean's type design.

here is a designer  (stig lindberg) where i found some 

inspiration. i love his style. the photo on the post below is his pottery.

abbie, i loved your idea of a clothing hang tag. i wanted to see how it would look. 

my thought with the dress form was that perhaps it could rise out of the city- 

scape of fabrics & buttons we discussed for the poster. 

sketches of earthfibers logo ideas: texture, a button and plant forms.

new ideas for earthfibers fashion show. i did try to use different patterns but it looked too crowded and busy. I thought perhaps this pattern, which has a burlap/hemp look to it ,works for a concept of fibers and textures. 

the photo is where i got the idea for the texture. it is natural sculpture by andy goldsworthy.

The pottery is by the wonderful swedish designer stig lingberg.

i'm working on combining images i've been thinking of: 

a button

lotus leaves

modern earth tones

i thought that earthfiber fashion show could be a new title to possibly replace passion for fashion...