Alice Pattullo - Branding Inspiration...

Alice Pattullo is one of my favourite artists, I found a few of her exhibition posters and I really loved what she'd done with them to make them interesting. Since she makes her prints via screen printing I am not surprised that a lot of her designs are in black and white (its easier to do only two shades with one dark colour than it is to layer up lots of colours). 

The two posters above are particular favourites- I really love the cluster of objects in the London Thames print. I think doing something similar is definitely an avenue to consider- possibly using digital objects to create a crowded scene. I like the use of black and white and having a lot of objects since its more interesting to look at- the black and white also help to keep the design bold although I would like to include accents of colour to add a bright edge. Im not sure if I'd need a thick block shape running through the design either-  since the block river above helps to divide the poster in two and provide some directionality.

I really like the shaded of green in the square poster above- and the squares. Again the poster is crowded with various objects but there is a sense of order introduced via the squares which I think is a definite consideration. The shades of green are incredibly complimentary all of which are bright and contrasted only with speckled texture and dark brown.

The poster above is one I have included to display how type looks within a poster and how it can be made interesting a fun. Bold colours and thick fonts make up the poster but it is the introduction of elegant swirls and layered shapes that helps to make the poster look more detailed and interesting. I also lik the little dainty label at the bottom which integrate the hand drawn touch and how the entire poster has been filled with ensures visuality,

This is perhaps my favourite Pattullo print- I love the jaunty shapes of the shells which dominate the print- they are lovely hand drawn and carefully accent the shape of the building. The building is made softer by texture and I like how you can see the bricks. The Pink turquoise and brown make for a constrasting colour scheme but it works well together particularly the pink accents which lighten the turquoise.

Inspiring Artwork...

I love the poster above- the papercut type was the initial draw- I  really love the solid jaunty edges. The wonderland instantly grabs the attention whilst the smaller contrasting blue and pink text draws the eye downwards into the bottom landscape itself. The foreground house has a lovely quirky silhouette- the walls slant inwards and I like the facebook and twitter signs which have been disguised as windows. I also like how the slogan has been incorporated into the sun- a contrastingly swirly "petite pencil" has almost been etched in. Again this poster manipulates a limited colour palette which is something I plan to take into consideration.

The desert scene above is one of my favourites its a print from the university of Bournemouth. I love the oranges and blues evident within the piece there a great sense of softness despite the block contrasting tones which is made apparent through the feathered white smears on the orange background. The cactus' are my favourite element I love their shape and how they break up the vast orange, The transparent letters integrates the phrase but I really like how its been placed on the sign - possibly something to consider.

The texture drew me into the Guardian print- I really like the speckled colours and the angular content which gives the poster a sharpness. The dolphin and the water in the palm of the hand instantly draws the eye and I like how this is balanced by the text below. The poster has a grainy quality to it and it almost looks like lighting effects have been used to keep the centre the focal point (since its lighter than the edges)

I really loved the typography on the suitcase above, Its a nice self contained little design- the chalky texture of the type combined with the black and white colour scheme reminds me of a blackboard- which gives the design a vintage feel. The thick travel type instantly draws the attention but the curvy hand drawn swirly writing below is just as legible and words well. I like how the suitcase has been outline using a soft chalky outline which keeps the design coherent.

The picture above is that of a book cover but I thought the hand drawn type (with the softly textured paper background) and the vibrant real life 3d petals worked beautifully together.  I like the idea of incorporating something real into a  type piece it helps to convey depth.

I really love the paper cut out abovr- its made entirely form painted pieces of paper that have been cut and raised to create this collage. The colours are lovely and soft and all the different papers and strokes give the whole piece a nice texture which softens the harsh angle of the building. There is a clear sense of light and dark and I really like how the sky has almost been scratched into to provoke contrast.

Other Graduate Posters...

I began by researching other graduate posters to get ideas for my own branding. I tried to find posters that were advertising Illustration/ Graphics/ Media/ Art since I felt like they would probably be the most inventive and visually appealing.

The poster above is typography based- something I plan on avoiding but I love the styling and the colours in the poster-  the jaunty angle of the text matches the cut out styling and I like the smaller text with the white rectangle background. The splatter effect helps to create a more interesting background.

I love the black and white cluster of objects I like how theres a lot to look at and how the cluster of shapes fill most of the poster which is effective in provoking interest and filling the page. I like the shape of scissors and the sunglasses which have a lovely rounded edge and slight gradient.

This was the wolverhampton university graduation poster. I really love the colours- the pink and green are especially vibrant and I love how the pink really draws the interest. The scratchy textural brush strokes help to give the flat shapes some three dimensionality. I like how the colour palette used has a hippie feel. 

I really love the astronaut in this poster- I actually really the sense of scene- theres a landscape theres background stars, a foreground character all of which give the poster a sense of story.  The black and white keeps the poster very clean although I think a hint of colour could have looked more striking. I also like how the dot to dot title has been integrated into the scene which make the poster more balanced. The main title has been framed by all the drawing which also helps to ensure interest.

I included this poster because its very random idea- the headless faceless people are are unique concept and I really like the swirly handwritten type which intergrates well into the poster. The concept is what caught my eye initially and I do really like the styling which is quirky and has a painted look.

Branding Research Other Exhibition Posters...

Before designing any branding for our student show, I opted to look into other exhibition posters and leaflets- I focused mostly on the more illustrative exhibition posters since they relate more to our area. I loved the illustrative colours and playful nature of the posters below, the text based one is the only poster that isnt advertising art and you can certainly see the difference. Avoiding lots of text and using lots of stylised imagery is probably my best option. I like the idea of making something that doesnt have dots and im keen to create a response thats not typography based. Obviously the type would have to match the poster but I dont want it to dominate. As to what to draw for a more illustrative response- I have no idea- the dots per inch doesnt provide any specific images (other than dots but I think that is unoriginal) which is actually really good because it means that I can draw anything- hopefully something playful and digital.

 I liked the cut out nature of the of the top posters below- the first works particularly well because of its limited colour palette. The bold yellow background contrasts well against the main red content- whilst the accents of pink provide an extra tone that elucidates the spiked explosion shapes. The piece is incredibly dainty in its detail which I like, I also like how the design is very self contained - the main body- draws attention to the central name and keeps it fairly neat- its only through the introduction of the pink shapes that make the design fill more space.

I love the textural element in the poster above- its very organic and paper cut which I think contrast well against the smooth white background. Im reminded of a storybook when looking at it and I love the playful handmade quality which really links to the rest of Kate Slaters work. I love the handmade typography which has the same cut out feel - but its incredibly swirled which works well against the thick blocks of brown on the bear. 

Overall making something illustrative seems like my best bet- something thats fun and playful!

Making the name fun...

Before I started designing any branding for the end of year show - I tried playing round with the chosen name to make it more fun- and interesting.

I came up with:

Lots of Dots Per Inch

Dots per inch- thinking outside the dots

Dots per inch - Thinking inside the dots

24 dots per inch (the number of students - foundation and BA just to give it something)

I like including the number of students somewhere so I might present this in my own branding and see what anyone says- I also need to confirm the number of Bas- I know there are 13 of us and I went with 11 for them but im not entirely sure on numbers.

I also like the thinking outside the dots and thinking inside the dots (thinking inside the resolution) so I plan on including this slogan within my branding poster- I just want it to be a bit light- a bit fun and a bit playful which is what the course is about: experimenting.

Choosing the name..

In order to get started quickly one of the first things we did as a group was to allocate people to certain jobs and figure out a basic timing- now we have a brief with proper dates on we have since adhered to the timing in the brief- but each person has been allocated a vague area in which to focus. I have placed myself within the printing and branding sections- printing because theres a catalogue to design and I think that could be fun and branding because Dan Mole (person in charge of branding) said that since Connor and I had to print everything and design a catalogue it would make sense for us to have input in the branding. Having said this everyone has to produce a branding poster idea anyway so Im not sure if it'll effect this anymore.

The second issue that we came across was that of a name. After a long discussion we had about 5 names:

Luma (I thought it was a bit random but perhaps a random word would work better because it has no meaning)

RGB (an acronym for something I jokingly suggested really good bullshit which people seemed to like)

Room 301 (since we operate in room 301 I liked the reference) people thought that this was overdone and wanted to get rid of the room but I argued that this would get rid of the little reference and it would just be a number- others found that this was a good thing because it was less cheesy- but I think that as a parallel to room 101 the room filled with your worst fears that using this reference would have been amusing. Sadly I was outvoted on this one.

Dots per inch (I'm not convinced on this one)

Children of the Resolution- Noone really like the idea- or got the reference- Ive included it because it was one of my favourites - I liked the fact that it paralleled the 70's T Rex song Children of the Revolution, but I also liked that it referenced us as students- we are children (students) of the resolution (the screen) but noone really got it so I didnt push this option.

After much debate we opted to whittle down choices and in the end we had two:

Dots per inch
RGB (standing for something)

Whilst I didnt like either I fought for RGB because I didnt like the other option. Sadly RGB lost to Dots per Inch- im still not convinced - it sounds a bit boring and a bit unoriginal - I think we are better than that but I also think that the name shouldnt matter too much as long as its branded well - Im hoping to make it sound more fun somehow!

End of Year Show Brief...

Just received the new brief for our end of year show, as I understand it we have to produce:

Our own responsive website or brochure- with business cards/postcards - I think im going to build a website as much as I hate coding I think it would be useful to have one.

A branding poster to pitch to the group - to brand the show

Put forward 2 printed ideas and 2 movs to go into the show- each student gets one guaranteed piece of work in the show

we have to manage the show and have input in pretty much all aspects whilst remembering that the show is also for the bas

overall what we have to produce individually doesnt seem too bad- the website has me worried but thats because its not a strength, but as a group we have to work together on a lot of aspects so I imagine that there is going to be a lot of long discussions. Working as one big group also means that individual styles and voices may get lost but I think its important for everyone to engage and be happy with branding choices and work submission choices.