Tuesday 20 April 2010

What I Want To Do & Why

01. Design a typeface(s)

My interest in the anatomy of type has rapidly developed since engaging with the typography module and the construction of an entire typeface is a skill I would like to explore further.

02. Illustrate more - portraiture in particular

I feel that over the past two years I have neglected to maintain my illustrative interests and therefore it would be good to revisit a skill that I really enjoy. The notion of paying particular interest to portraiture is something that comes natural to me, but I'd also like to study illustrated letter-forms/type as image.

03. Screen print a limited edition run of posters

I want to improve my skills with the process and I am particularly keen to develop tangible print based solutions that are one-off; especially in this digital age.

04. Dedicate time to developing brand identities and logos

Branding and logo design for me is a way of working with type in a creative and visual way, be it digitally or illustrative and I think its importance to a business or client is an aspect that I find challenging and motivational.

05. Photograph and document type within the environment (inspired by Ed Fella)

Ever since I purchased his book I have been interested in making simple observations within my environment; especially through documenting letter forms. I find it really engaging how many comparisons can be made when you collect a vast amount of source material.

06. Experiment with Avant Garde page layout techniques

This interest ties into my a-level studies where I became fascinated with avant garde design and designer such as Marinetti, Werkman, El Lissitzky and Rodchenko. I like the way they use the page and direct the viewers eye, break convention and challenge what page layout can be. As a result of completing the type module I feel these two aspects work quite closely and provide n opportunity to develop some interesting work.

07. Work with a 3D environment to create a 2D, print based piece of design

My old interest in collage and working with craft materials transcends into my practice today although I don't believe I exploit it enough. I am quite interested in the idea of working from 3D to 2D and the book Tangible has been quite inspirational as of late.

08. Create type and letterforms from everyday 3D objects

I've been interested in doing this for a while and the idea stems from a hybrid of points 01 and 07. I also believe that this is yet another new skill I could easily add to my existing capabilities; I just need to give myself an opportunity in which to do it.

09. Get a business card professionally printed

Self promotion is shaping up to be a fundamental element of my design practice as my time on this degree draws to a close. Getting a business card professionally printed is something I have wanted to do for a long time; most definitely since working on this in the typography module. I just can't get those scenes from American Psycho out of my head. Ohh, nice!

10. Create a brand and work with it across a series of promotional materials

Essentially I intend to carry this out as means to develop my skills in appropriating design solutions and working with the same source material across a breadth of media; both digitally on screen and print based on paper stocks.

11. Learn to use Flash, or at least develop an awareness of how it can be used

The opportunity to learn any additional software skill in my opinion is a blessing whilst in education. Flash is a piece of software that I haven't approached yet and I would like to at least know the fundamentals of how it works even if my own skills in using it are not brilliant.

12. Further knowledge on using Dreamweaver to produce a professional website

I want to have as much control as possible over the build and maintenance of my own website and potentially that of clients. Although I don't want to get real tech in the head with this, it's always good to have the knowledge.

13. Become fluent in using Illustrator

An aspect of my practice I have been trying to improve since the beginning of this course. I have always been more proficient on Photoshop and I feel my lack of capabilities in Illustrator have at times hindered my progress in developing my concepts fully.

14. Start keeping a daily sketchbook of illustrations as a recreational hobby

Whenever I go onto designers websites and conduct contextual research I constantly see them keeping sketchbooks as a leisurely hobby if nothing else... every time I dribble over how nice they are, how personal they feel. I always seem to think why do I not do this, do I even have the time? But I think I am just being lazy and should ditch some of my other hobbies in order to dedicate time toward doing this. It'll mean I can illustrate more!

No comments:

Post a Comment