'Show your work' it's a fantastic book by Austin Kleon that gives the keys of how to take advantage of the contemporary platforms we all enjoy without falling in the trap of behaving like everyone else, being part of the mass.
Personally I have made several experiments in social networks (such as Youtube) to see how successful different ways of sharing are. Kleon explains very thoroughly and easily these methods that requires every individual to be part of something bigger instead of remaining like a hoarder and waiting for an audience to fall to the enchant.
This book has helped me to better understand how to establish networks and create an interactive audience. I am now helping my sister, who is an opera singer and wants to take advantage from social networks.
Thursday, 4 February 2016
Monday, 1 February 2016
Logo for self-brand
The idea of having 3 different triangles that put together like a puzzle builds an A with the general shape and a Z (my initials) with negative space is very attractive as it sounds flexible. I cut out from a paper the three triangles to see how they could work together in different ways the choices weren't many. The purpose of having something flexible but only in theory seemed empty, meaningless and pointless. So I decided to start over with the concept.
It was then when I started writing my initials in different and random orders and this came up:
I noticed that it could be represented by triangles again in a more clean and playful way. It also reminded me to the "pintaderas" from the Guanches of Canary Islands (where I am from), ancient art from the aboriginals that lived there once, before Spain conquered it. I thought this was a coincidence I could use to base my concept on.
Also the addition of a line at the end to represent the last stroke of the Z looks like an underscore on a computer, when it is waiting for the user to type. I thought it could be a good idea for an animation. It also has a meaning of my work is not complete yet, it's being built by bits (triangles) that are very personal.
The animation could be very simple and played in 3 seconds: there is an underscore flashing and after two keyboard strokes that are reproduced with audio the two triangles appear, then when pressing enter (an distinct keystroke) the underscore flashes again, but this time behind the two triangles and with my name below it.
More exploration with triangles brought interesting results. I was able to write A and Z with one in particular. One shape made out of a symmetric structure (2 triangles) represents myself, that only can be completed by a foreign agent. When that symbol is rotated it looks like a Z, the first letter of my surname.
More experimentation came after these results, as the design seemed to have some emptiness and asymmetry that I think don't represent me either me or my work.
When placed the A and the Z into a triangle a more engaging and intriguing shape came up by representing the values I was mentioning before. Most of the people I asked about which design is the most appropriate they agree is the one with the black background. On one hand, the design is solid and almost symmetrical, and when the head is tilted to the right my initials are visible (A and Z).
The design from the aboriginals in my homeland is kept with the triangles, but leaving the one in the center open. This can have various interpretations: different triangles are linked (which can represent the way I am eclectic) or that it is not completed (Just like me. I don't know everything, but all the opposite: I still learning new things. It is never going to end and it will be always interesting).
By using simple shapes that creates a shape with different readings also reflects the way I work: by adding various meanings to what I do in subtle ways and keeping a solid and familiar structure.
The triangle would be upside down as this symbol represent "female". I am not a female, but I like to think that I work hard for feminism and when someone says that I have feminine perspective regarding some things I consider that a compliment, as it means I am able to see things from others eyes and shift my perspective if necessary.
Then it came experimentation with colours and typefaces. The chosen colours are given from my passion to cinematography and urban looks, so it was inspired in films like Blade Runner. I used lighter colours for upper parts and darker for the triangle at the bottom. The typeface has the colour of the two triangles with lighter tone, so the strength in the design is distributed.
After experimenting with different typefaces with the design logo to make sure everything is consistent, I decided to choose a Sans-serif font as it goes better with logo as well as give the brand a relaxed look instead of a more formal one.
I used the book "Stop Stealing Sheep & find out how type works" by Erik Spiekermann to help me find out what typeface I should pick. It was then when Helvetica Neue came across, and it was my favourite typeface before starting the course. After watching the documentary about Helvetica and know what is around this typeface, I think it is a typeface that represents me in some ways. It has been very critisised for its overuse. Everyone wants to be original, but who doesn't? I personally believe that using the same as everyone else doesn't make us be the same or lack of originality. In my opinion, if something is well made, it should be used, and Helvetica is the perfect example. It would be wrong if it is used for absolutely everything without considering other options. But just because it's widely used, it doesn't mean that using it is commiting some kind of sin or heresy. It reflects not only how I think, but how I make my decisions designing: I always try to be practical and I like to take risks, but up to some point. It also conveys, with its shapes, sophistication and simplicity, things that I always try to have in my work.
After checking all the types of Helvetica Neue, the most appropriate seemed Helvetica Neue LT Std 35 Thin, as it wasn't too thin (to avoid printing problems) or too thick that wouldn't represent me. Choosing the intermediate choice is also typical in my design decisions. I chose to keep it in lower case to remove any ideas of hierarchy and convey more simplicity. The use of the name Alex (for Alejandro) it's a choice based on make it easier for an English audience to pronounce and remember.
The size was given by the width of the logo and making it multiple of the size of the lines.
I noticed that it could be represented by triangles again in a more clean and playful way. It also reminded me to the "pintaderas" from the Guanches of Canary Islands (where I am from), ancient art from the aboriginals that lived there once, before Spain conquered it. I thought this was a coincidence I could use to base my concept on.
Also the addition of a line at the end to represent the last stroke of the Z looks like an underscore on a computer, when it is waiting for the user to type. I thought it could be a good idea for an animation. It also has a meaning of my work is not complete yet, it's being built by bits (triangles) that are very personal.
The animation could be very simple and played in 3 seconds: there is an underscore flashing and after two keyboard strokes that are reproduced with audio the two triangles appear, then when pressing enter (an distinct keystroke) the underscore flashes again, but this time behind the two triangles and with my name below it.
More exploration with triangles brought interesting results. I was able to write A and Z with one in particular. One shape made out of a symmetric structure (2 triangles) represents myself, that only can be completed by a foreign agent. When that symbol is rotated it looks like a Z, the first letter of my surname.
More experimentation came after these results, as the design seemed to have some emptiness and asymmetry that I think don't represent me either me or my work.
When placed the A and the Z into a triangle a more engaging and intriguing shape came up by representing the values I was mentioning before. Most of the people I asked about which design is the most appropriate they agree is the one with the black background. On one hand, the design is solid and almost symmetrical, and when the head is tilted to the right my initials are visible (A and Z).The design from the aboriginals in my homeland is kept with the triangles, but leaving the one in the center open. This can have various interpretations: different triangles are linked (which can represent the way I am eclectic) or that it is not completed (Just like me. I don't know everything, but all the opposite: I still learning new things. It is never going to end and it will be always interesting).
By using simple shapes that creates a shape with different readings also reflects the way I work: by adding various meanings to what I do in subtle ways and keeping a solid and familiar structure.
The triangle would be upside down as this symbol represent "female". I am not a female, but I like to think that I work hard for feminism and when someone says that I have feminine perspective regarding some things I consider that a compliment, as it means I am able to see things from others eyes and shift my perspective if necessary.
Then it came experimentation with colours and typefaces. The chosen colours are given from my passion to cinematography and urban looks, so it was inspired in films like Blade Runner. I used lighter colours for upper parts and darker for the triangle at the bottom. The typeface has the colour of the two triangles with lighter tone, so the strength in the design is distributed.
After experimenting with different typefaces with the design logo to make sure everything is consistent, I decided to choose a Sans-serif font as it goes better with logo as well as give the brand a relaxed look instead of a more formal one.
I used the book "Stop Stealing Sheep & find out how type works" by Erik Spiekermann to help me find out what typeface I should pick. It was then when Helvetica Neue came across, and it was my favourite typeface before starting the course. After watching the documentary about Helvetica and know what is around this typeface, I think it is a typeface that represents me in some ways. It has been very critisised for its overuse. Everyone wants to be original, but who doesn't? I personally believe that using the same as everyone else doesn't make us be the same or lack of originality. In my opinion, if something is well made, it should be used, and Helvetica is the perfect example. It would be wrong if it is used for absolutely everything without considering other options. But just because it's widely used, it doesn't mean that using it is commiting some kind of sin or heresy. It reflects not only how I think, but how I make my decisions designing: I always try to be practical and I like to take risks, but up to some point. It also conveys, with its shapes, sophistication and simplicity, things that I always try to have in my work.
After checking all the types of Helvetica Neue, the most appropriate seemed Helvetica Neue LT Std 35 Thin, as it wasn't too thin (to avoid printing problems) or too thick that wouldn't represent me. Choosing the intermediate choice is also typical in my design decisions. I chose to keep it in lower case to remove any ideas of hierarchy and convey more simplicity. The use of the name Alex (for Alejandro) it's a choice based on make it easier for an English audience to pronounce and remember.
The size was given by the width of the logo and making it multiple of the size of the lines.
Although I was happy with helvetica, I wanted to check other options, so I took a different way to experiment with typefaces. There is a type of customised searching system for fonts on internet I decided to try. I asked my girlfriend to choose the different elements of a typeface that could define me. The results were horrible, but at least it gave me an idea about what I didn't want for my branding. The interesting thing is that I made the same for her, and she wasn't happy with the results either. So I tried to do it trying to consider myself as a professional rather than my personal attributes. Then some alternatives came up:
http://www.fonts.com/font/itc/itc-ronda/regular
http://www.fonts.com/font/international-typefounders-inc/aquarius/medium
http://www.fonts.com/font/microsoft-corporation/nina/regular
http://www.fonts.com/font/linotype/stymie/medium
http://www.fonts.com/font/shinntype/preface/book
http://www.fonts.com/font/identikal/monark/light
http://www.fonts.com/font/font-bureau/pennsylvania/regular
Among all of them I'd highlight ITC Ronda as it can make an interesting contrast with its rounded shapes and the triangle. Despite I think Helvetica Neue works quite well with the logo I am not sure about the lack of personality of the typeface being a Graphic Designer myself. ITC Ronda is, after all, a bit bolder, naturally enhancing some features the typeface already has, like the unusual shapes of the "a" and the "e", making it more suitable for a graphic designer identity logo.
http://www.fonts.com/font/itc/itc-ronda/regular
http://www.fonts.com/font/international-typefounders-inc/aquarius/medium
http://www.fonts.com/font/microsoft-corporation/nina/regular
http://www.fonts.com/font/linotype/stymie/medium
http://www.fonts.com/font/shinntype/preface/book
http://www.fonts.com/font/identikal/monark/light
http://www.fonts.com/font/font-bureau/pennsylvania/regular
Among all of them I'd highlight ITC Ronda as it can make an interesting contrast with its rounded shapes and the triangle. Despite I think Helvetica Neue works quite well with the logo I am not sure about the lack of personality of the typeface being a Graphic Designer myself. ITC Ronda is, after all, a bit bolder, naturally enhancing some features the typeface already has, like the unusual shapes of the "a" and the "e", making it more suitable for a graphic designer identity logo.
Fallout 4
As graphic designer I find Fallout universe an endless source of inspiration as well as the perfect example of consistent design decisions.
Even when booting the game Bethesda Studios show their logo in an animation specifically designed for this game, in its own theme: a futuristic post-apocaliptic world full of horrors and dangers caused by radiation with technological aesthetics from the 30's and 40's and a machiavellian sense of humor, as the environment related to nuclear shelters is very corporative and way too friendly.
The pictograms, logos and other things in the game are following the same principles and that is what makes it so consistent and attractive.
Monday, 18 January 2016
People's history museum visit
During our visit to the People's History Museum in Manchester I took the advantage to take a detour from the main exposition we went for.
Although I am going to talk about the other rooms, there was one piece of work that grabbed my attention, and it was the 'carpet' made out of lottery tickets that weren worthless at some point. Thinking that they were sold 10 pounds each this piece makes very visual the amount of money we throw away.
I could not avoid finding the next pictures interesting as I am writing an essay for COP called construction of femininity. These are examples of how society used to see women and how they were used to advertise products for men, making them mere objects of attraction.
I also found very interesting the communism section as they had a part of the history of my country that I never heard of: how the English communist party helped the republican side in the Spanish civil war. As Spanish I found this astonishing, as it is very dificult to find an exhibition like this in Spain. Despite what media and the common knowledge says, many intelectuals have claimed that Spain is still in the post-Franco era, and recent political events have confirmed this. The owners of museums in Spain are normally part of the bourgeoisie and they do not want to share this part of the history.
It was also very interesting to see the designs for posters asking to help Spain. I find them very similar to the posters of the second Spanish republic.
Thursday, 14 January 2016
Who am I?
To design my own brand the first thing I need to identify is who I am as individual, which will define who I am as a designer.
If I had to define myself the word that's probably the most accurate is 'eclectic', as I like different things that are not related but make me unique as individual. I decided to write down the names of the people that I admire as artists and also write the characteristics of why I admire them and try to be like them.
- What skills do I have? I have always liked to solve problems in the creative field as I have had to work thinking big but with few resources. I've not always been able to do what I planned to, but I always find alternatives. I rarely say "this option is just impossible". That's probably why I ended up studying Graphic Design, to improve that part I really like about me. In more tangible terms, I am skilled in digital design, and this is related to the "problem-solver" side of me, as everything I've learnt has been by asking the question "how do I do that?" and found the answer either by experiment or research.
- What do I know? I always answer: I don't know much about a single thing, but I know bits of this and that. As I defined myself earlier, I am an eclectic person, and I see it as a positive thing, as my sources of inspiration or information are always different and they mix in strange ways to make me evolve as a professional in my own way.
- What do I believe? There are things that are unquestionable to me in social and ethical terms, such as respect and freedom of choice for everyone independently of who they are, and I always defend those values when I think someone is attacking them, even if the attacked is someone I don't agree with. I own a Facebook page where I constantly share content about social and political issues, and they are normally related to discrimination (racism, sexism, etc). It makes me happy to think I am able to make at least one mind change.
Outside the programme, I think my views have been shaped by working with diferent people in different countries. A type of design can be very attractive in one place, and totally ignored in another one. When I realised about this fact, and after having read Vignelli's canon, it made me realise that timelessness is directly related to trends and the places where these trends happen.
If I had to define myself the word that's probably the most accurate is 'eclectic', as I like different things that are not related but make me unique as individual. I decided to write down the names of the people that I admire as artists and also write the characteristics of why I admire them and try to be like them.
The words that were repeated were mixing, hard made look easy, familiar (more the 'I am like you' kind of essence) and Clever. This last word could be represented by the way I brand myself. The key words then were mix, familiar and 'hard made look easy'. Then I started to write random ideas that became a little manifesto:
"I am not just a designer. I am Pete Rock, I am Michael Jackson, I am Hideo Kojima, I am Freddie Mercury, I am Salvador Lleo, I am Carlos Núñez, I am Andrej Dragan".
I got to the conclusion that the concept is I AM.
But taking it a bit further...
"Who am I? Well, that is a tricky question I can answer by saying I am not just a designer. In fact, I am not even an individual, a single person... I am too many of them. I am Pete Rock's mixes, I am Hideo Kojima's delusions, I am Tsugumi Ohba's complexity, I am Freddie Mercury's voice, I am Salvador Lleo's eyes, I am Carlos Núñez's ears, I am Camaron's heart, I am Paco de Lucia's shyness, I am Michael Jordan's flights, I am Massimo Vignelli's canon, I am Andrej Dragan's criticism, I am David Blaine's magic, I am James Gandolfini's credibility, I am Common's commonness and I am Michael Jackson's uniqueness. I am an heterogeneous being, a conglomerate. I am a hybrid."
Then I stripped it down to something a bit more ambiguous and simpler:
"Who am I? A tricky question I can answer by saying I am not just a designer. I am not even an individual, a single person... I am too many of them. I am Pete Rock, I am Hideo Kojima, I am Tsugumi Ohba, I am Freddie Mercury, I am Salvador Lleo, I am Confucious, I am Carlos Núñez, I am The Chieftains, I am Camarón, I am Paco de Lucía, I am Michael Jordan, I am Massimo Vignelli, I am Andrej Dragan, I am David Blaine, I am James Gandolfini, I am Common and I am Michael Jackson. I am an heterogeneous being, a conglomerate. I am a hybrid."
Thought of using hybrid mythological animals
"I am not just a designer. I am Pete Rock, I am Michael Jackson, I am Hideo Kojima, I am Freddie Mercury, I am Salvador Lleo, I am Carlos Núñez, I am Andrej Dragan".
I got to the conclusion that the concept is I AM.
But taking it a bit further...
"Who am I? Well, that is a tricky question I can answer by saying I am not just a designer. In fact, I am not even an individual, a single person... I am too many of them. I am Pete Rock's mixes, I am Hideo Kojima's delusions, I am Tsugumi Ohba's complexity, I am Freddie Mercury's voice, I am Salvador Lleo's eyes, I am Carlos Núñez's ears, I am Camaron's heart, I am Paco de Lucia's shyness, I am Michael Jordan's flights, I am Massimo Vignelli's canon, I am Andrej Dragan's criticism, I am David Blaine's magic, I am James Gandolfini's credibility, I am Common's commonness and I am Michael Jackson's uniqueness. I am an heterogeneous being, a conglomerate. I am a hybrid."
Then I stripped it down to something a bit more ambiguous and simpler:
"Who am I? A tricky question I can answer by saying I am not just a designer. I am not even an individual, a single person... I am too many of them. I am Pete Rock, I am Hideo Kojima, I am Tsugumi Ohba, I am Freddie Mercury, I am Salvador Lleo, I am Confucious, I am Carlos Núñez, I am The Chieftains, I am Camarón, I am Paco de Lucía, I am Michael Jordan, I am Massimo Vignelli, I am Andrej Dragan, I am David Blaine, I am James Gandolfini, I am Common and I am Michael Jackson. I am an heterogeneous being, a conglomerate. I am a hybrid."
Thought of using hybrid mythological animals
madehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hybrid_creatures_in_mythology
Other questions I should answer about myself are:
- What have I learned? There are innumerable things I've learned during in my way to being a Graphic Designer, but one of the most important things I think predominates in my work as visual creative is about being obvious or ambiguous. In my first works as video editor making music videos everything was very self-taught and I followed my intuition, but looking at others people work, people I liked and other I didn't, I realised that being more subtle leaving messages for those that want to explore them is something I find way more interesting rather than a plain and meaningless obvious choices.
Other questions I should answer about myself are:
- What have I learned? There are innumerable things I've learned during in my way to being a Graphic Designer, but one of the most important things I think predominates in my work as visual creative is about being obvious or ambiguous. In my first works as video editor making music videos everything was very self-taught and I followed my intuition, but looking at others people work, people I liked and other I didn't, I realised that being more subtle leaving messages for those that want to explore them is something I find way more interesting rather than a plain and meaningless obvious choices.
- What skills do I have? I have always liked to solve problems in the creative field as I have had to work thinking big but with few resources. I've not always been able to do what I planned to, but I always find alternatives. I rarely say "this option is just impossible". That's probably why I ended up studying Graphic Design, to improve that part I really like about me. In more tangible terms, I am skilled in digital design, and this is related to the "problem-solver" side of me, as everything I've learnt has been by asking the question "how do I do that?" and found the answer either by experiment or research.
- What do I know? I always answer: I don't know much about a single thing, but I know bits of this and that. As I defined myself earlier, I am an eclectic person, and I see it as a positive thing, as my sources of inspiration or information are always different and they mix in strange ways to make me evolve as a professional in my own way.
- What do I believe? There are things that are unquestionable to me in social and ethical terms, such as respect and freedom of choice for everyone independently of who they are, and I always defend those values when I think someone is attacking them, even if the attacked is someone I don't agree with. I own a Facebook page where I constantly share content about social and political issues, and they are normally related to discrimination (racism, sexism, etc). It makes me happy to think I am able to make at least one mind change.
- What do I have to design? As I am mostly a digital designer who is also into making videos, I think I need to implement all these characteristics about me into a logo that represents me as practitioner. From there, I can create an animation to present the logo in the videos I create.
Despite I don't usually attend to places where other creatives are, I think is positive to have a business card I can always hand to another person. I've always thought it's the kind of thing someone doesn't need, until you do.
An e-mail signature could be also helpful and distinctive to those I mail to, working as a business card.
A mock-up of a website where I intend to show all my work.
Despite I don't usually attend to places where other creatives are, I think is positive to have a business card I can always hand to another person. I've always thought it's the kind of thing someone doesn't need, until you do.
An e-mail signature could be also helpful and distinctive to those I mail to, working as a business card.
A mock-up of a website where I intend to show all my work.
- What tone of voice best reflects me, my practice and my ambitions?
I've always tried to be very methodical with my designs and when it comes to professional behavior I like to be serious but friendly, making see my work reachable and easy to understand but backed up by a reliable professional individual.
- What experiences have shaped my opinions and views both in and outside of the programme?
Before studying Graphic Design I didn't know about Massimo Vignelli. He's methods and the way he sees Graphic design are not far from the perspective I had. Also having feedback from others that think completely different from me is something totally mind opening and helpful. It helps you to be able to look at things differently.Outside the programme, I think my views have been shaped by working with diferent people in different countries. A type of design can be very attractive in one place, and totally ignored in another one. When I realised about this fact, and after having read Vignelli's canon, it made me realise that timelessness is directly related to trends and the places where these trends happen.
Can also make something simpler with shapes and typography, similar to David Bowie's Blackstar album: showing pieces of what creates my two initials combined (A and Z) as parts of myself that can be used as tools for different purposes.
Thursday, 3 December 2015
Business cards.
Since I am going to be moving and my girlfriend's business of teaching Spanish private lessons is thriving I thought it could be a good opportunity to use the techniques learnt at college so far to make business cards for current and potential students.
Trying to stick to Vignelli's canon I wanted to create something minimalist, effective and flexible. I tried different colours to see what combination worked better. At the beginning I tried a horizontal text but it was lacking dynamism and excitement. The white vertical line was something my girlfriend wanted to add and I finally was able to convince her to remove, as from afar it looked like a flag from a country of Northern Europe.
I decided to use a red-orange background and white text in Helvetica on the front to make it stand out. The back is also written in Helvetica, excepting the name and the acronyms for e-mail, telephone and Facebook, which are written in Caslon and are also in orange to create contrast and make the letters easy to relate with what they are representing. I chose Caslon for the name to add formality to the teacher figure.
I decided to use Helvetica for the front because it is modern, clean, and makes look that learning Spanish can be an exciting and enjoyable experience. The text is skewed on the sides to give a sense of efficiency and dynamism, all far away from traditional booking look like. The cut on the sides enhances that modern and dynamism approach, like 'you don't need to see (know) everything to understand what you see. It's easier than you think'. The kerning of the word Spanish is quite close to convey that tension and intensity of being effective and active. 'I want to learn Spanish, and I want to do it now' kind of feeling. 'Learn' and 'in leeds' is a bit separated from the main text to bring some relaxation, some feel of ease to the process. The lessons aim to be simple but empowering, just like the design: minimalist but forceful.
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Writing Leeds
Writing Leeds was a project done a couple of years ago by the studio Left Eye Blind and it has evolved since then to British Library. It is very inspirational to me and it perfectly reflects the kind of work I look forward to do when I finish my studies.
The photography, style, shots, edition, social action and format itself it's what attracts me the most. Also the graphic design work within their works is very minimalistic and clean, something I also feel quite identified with.
The photography, style, shots, edition, social action and format itself it's what attracts me the most. Also the graphic design work within their works is very minimalistic and clean, something I also feel quite identified with.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)