Sunday 17 April 2011



I believe these two trials look a lot betetr than before. instead of using a brush or sharpie, i use the lid on the ink pot to create this effect. it turned out a lot better than expected and i think the colours i used really compliment each other and you can also see how julie verhoeven has really inspired me. what i found was difficult was that the lid ran out of ink easily, so the ink marks look washed out in some places which is not what i wanted. i will have to find a way to make sure that i can cover up the places where the ink has washed out

sketch trials

i decided to do some more trials using different materials

i used a paint brush and ink on the blue one, it hought it turned out okay but too detailed. i wanted a sketchy 10 minute looking job but still creative.
On the red one i used a black sharpie, i dont think it turned out as well as i hoped as you are quite limited when it comes to line drawings especially with a sharpie.
I am going to experiment more with different materials i can use with ink and see how it turns out.

The idea was to create a illustration to represent a department which will be in the building to put on the walls along side the arrows. so there would be a photography arrow with a drawing to accompy it. 

Before with the trials, i thought the writing seemed too 'informal' and messy. I decided to scan the backgrounds in and place a font on top from photoshop and use a tablet to draw on the swirls. I thought this look so much better and gave me a better idea on how i could develop it further
The idea is to have this printed on white walls so the arrows will direct in the direction its supposed to. I dont think it is hard to read and i find it very simple but different to an ordinary sign

wayfinding design trials 1



Julie Verhoeven, collection of work to for inspiration

Julie Verhoeven

Julie Verhoeven is an artist and designer based in London.
After studying fashion she began her career assisting John Galliano before working in the fashion industry as a designer, illustrator, creative director and tutor.

Verhoeven’s own fashion label, Gibo by Julie Verhoeven,
was launched in September 2002, and she went on to collaborate
with global brands including, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Mulberry
and H&M.


I found Verhoeven by looking through books of design, what really caught my eye was her invitations to a show 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and 'unforgiven' I thought her style of drawing and use of colour was really similar to how i wanted to design the interior and way finding of the building.

I really liked how she did the writing in this invitation here. I thought how the swirls joined together was really playful and carefree. I could establish this idea and make it into arrows for wayfinding. I believe this would work well with the branding of the building as it is for art, musical theatre etc.


Her invitation to 'Unforgiven' was really interesting. Although it was a different show it had the same feel to the art, as swirls and lines were used and join together to create characters within the invitation. The colours and how it was applied were very carefree and fun. I want the new building to be carefree and fun, i dont want people to go in feeling like they dont want to go to lesson. Having a building with a relaxed feel to it would create a positive atmosphere

 To get a better insight we were told to redesign the BRIT school logo so we got a better idea on how visual branding could work.



First i looked at the logo, the main colour schemes and how it worked. Orange and blue were the main colours used in the logos, although the Blue would change to green or turqouise in some photographs.








I then made a brainstorm on what could be suitable to create a motif. For example typography, colours and objects that could work well with the new building.


I foccused more on colours here. i decided that pastel natural colours should be used to have a relaxed feel about the building. as too many bright colours could cause headaches and general dislike throughout the public. I dont want to relate the design to something thats already familiar with people.



I thought of keeping the main design, but changing the background. Mixing in different colours, somewhat to represent the mixing of different subjects and people in the new building. I thought this looked really nice and worked well with the logo. I will take this further into my concept designs

BRIT school

BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology is an independent school located in The Crescent, Selhurst, Croydon. The BRIT School is dedicated to education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible. Its principal is Nick Williams.

I personally see the school as something colourful, in personality and atmosphere. Although the school is mainly well known for the BRIT awards and the music talents that come from the school (Amy Winehouse, Adelle, Kate Nash) but the school has much more to offer.

Sunday 10 April 2011

observational drawing of the refurbished building

Aedas

The architectual firm Aedas will be designing and building the new building for the BRIT school. I looked into the firms website and look at their buildings to get a better idea of what to expect. The firm works with a lot of large buildings and uses glass quite often.
Out of their work i thought this was really amazing and good, due to its height and design. as it has a twist going around the building, it almost looks physically impossible to build something like it. i thought it was very creative and different from the typical block buildings.
Wayfinding is a method where you use signs and posters around a building to show where places are and in which direction/area they are in. With wayfinding you can be very creative then putting up ordinary signs with arrows. for example the wayfinding system in Great Ormand Street Hospital. As the hospital is specially for children, they made a twist on wayfinding but making i more child friendly. They used Animals and nature as their main theme of wayfinding, decorating the walls and adding a play of words on signs. I thought this was very creative and sweet, something i will put into consideration when planning for the project.

University of Naples Metro Station

I thought another interesting design was the University of Naples Metro Station. As soon as i saw pictures of it i knew it was difinately something different to it. The bright colours and vibrant patterns on the wall and floors instantly attract attention. I thought it was very out of the ordinary and strange as usualy stations are dull with grey tones and nothing else interesting. This gave me inspiration to think differently, that rooms and interior design in public places dont always have to be dull and boring, you can liven up things up with bright colours and patterns. I also think that colours in the spaces around you (whether its your work or home) instantly make an impact on your day, i think seeing bright colours like this would make people feel more energetic and happy as it wouldnt be boring.

Starbucks brand and logo development

 
Starbucks is a good example of logo development and change. for example the colours and writing have changed into what appears to be just a green logo with no writing. My first opp ion of the logo changes was the fact that it almost looks like it zooms into the woman every time it develops. also the fact that they remove the writing each time, this shows how famous the brand is that the text around it doesn't matter.
The colours used give the impression of Eco-friendly due to the green feel of the branding.

Sunday 3 April 2011

Architecual Spaces 2

Antoni Gaudi is a well known architect, famous for his wide imagination and the fact he never drew detailed drawings of his works. Gaudí conceived his buildings in a global manner, taking into account both structural and decorative functions. his architecture featured a series of crafts,  ceramic, stained glass, iron forging, carpentry, etc. Gaudi’s work culminated in an organic style that was inspired by nature.
Gaudi's work is an incredible inspiration, he use of colours and shapes is really significant in his work especially the use of nature.
His buildings don t look like buildings, they look like something off an alien planet or from a fantasy film. The colours are very bright and pastel, complimenting each other. Even the roof of his buildings look like endless colours of fish scales in a ocean, it is very imaginitive and beautiful.
Not only has he designed buildings, but gardens as well. Making structures like bridges and pathways.

Architectural Spaces

The pompidou Centre.
The Centre was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, the British architect couple Richard Rogers and Su Rogers, Gianfranco Franchini, the British structural engineer Edmund Happold, and Irish structural engineer Peter Rice. The project was awarded to this team in an architectural design competition, whose results were announced in 1971. Reporting on Rogers' winning the Pritzker Prize in 2007, The New York Times noted that the design of the Centre "turned the architecture world upside down" and that "Mr. Rogers earned a reputation as a high-tech iconoclast with the completion of the 1977 Pompidou Centre, with its exposed skeleton of brightly colored tubes for mechanical systems. The Pritzker jury said the Pompidou "revolutionized museums, transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city."
Initially, all of the functional structural elements of the building were color-coded: green pipes are plumbing, blue ducts are for climate control, electrical wires are encased in yellow, and circulation elements and devices for safety (e.g., fire extinguishers) are red.However, recent visits suggests that this color coding has been partially removed, and many of the elements are simply painted white.

I personally think the building is very strange, it is out of the ordinary and is actually something out of this world. It's much like something you would see out of SCI-FI films or games. It is unique and very thoughtful. But i think it doesnt look appealing, the outer wires make it look very unnatractive and messy but i appreciate the idea and concept behind it.

Brand Identity

When researching brand identity i looked at 3 popular brands which i thought logo's were the most recgonisable in popular culture.

First i looked at the logo for Apple inc. A company most recognisable for the production of electronical software and computer software. I believe the logo is very significant to the idea of the company, as it looks very metallic but simple at the same time. Much like the products they produce. The colour is simple, but you often see variations of the logo for example the rainbow logo. Which supposedly would appeal to children and young adults, who are not looking for professional software.

Next i looked at the logo for the fast food resturant KFC. Also known as Kuntucky Fried Chicken. The company was founded as by Colonel Harland Sanders, who died in 1980, is an important part of the company's branding. He is featured in many of the Companys logos and advertisments. The use of colour will goes well together as it is bright and colourful and compliments the white and brown. 
 
The third company i looked at was the film production studio Universal. You see it in the opening of many films and see it as something very simple. The colours are realistic and represent the name 'Universal'. As it is the Earth with the logo wrapped around it. I chose this because the logo represents its name, much like Apple Inc. The font is very overpowering, wrapped with gold and a shine across it. I thought it was clever as it also represents the kind of power the universe is, and the studio itself.