Oh, I do like to be beside the fontsize!

I’m always on the search for crisp, fresh fonts and the latest batch of freebies up at Smashing Magazine are fantastic! Have a look.

Walkman Advert

Proof that we should all get along with each other. Amazing stuff.

Project Brief – Magazine G3

So over the past few weeks I’ve been doing some thinking on the magazine cover that we’re doing in Graphics (probably a good thing too seeing as that’s the brief,) and I thought I’d record the main ideas I’ve got before finally plunging into my final design.

Anyway, a list, for my purpose as much as others.

1 . Surviving the 21st century in sevens – Environment Issues

I’ve drawn up many concepts for this idea already. With so much pressure on everyone to create a greener world, I figured this would be a topical and interesting magazine to do. I’m partial to the idea of environment, primarily because it seems to be the easiest idea to relate to sustainability and survival. With the brief in mind, I felt that this idea would be the most simple to explain. However, I’m not famous for sticking to the easy road!

I’ve been looking at eco-houses in Cardiff and Gloucester to get a feel for the kind of content I could include in the magazine. Newport was voted the most green city in the UK last month, a chart hosted by The Times, and I thought that this whole idea of recycling and reusing items could be a main feature.

Oh. And I like using the colour green.

2. Surviving the 21st century in sevens – Zombie attack

Going off on a bit of a tangent, I thought a humorous approach to the magazine would be a zombie attack, complete with escape plans and a zombie survival guide. It’s a well known joke that the world will be over run with zombies in the future – why not base a magazine around the concept?

I’ve been looking at emergency booklets and information pamphlets for this idea. I’d love to get to grips with that simple style of illustration and use it in the magazine. I think this idea is by far my favourite – we shall see how it goes.

3. Surviving the 21st century in sevens – Terrorism

With the zombie survival illustrations in mind, I think that terrorism could provide fantastic content in a magazine. Shortly after 9/11 terrorism survival guides were issued in the US and UK explaining what to do in the event of an emergency. This whole concept would basically be the serious version of the magazine idea as described above. In both ideas, my first plan of action would be to grab Martin and explore my old friend screen printing.

Anyway, it’s up to the lecturers. Hopefully next week will offer a conclusive step in the right direction. Either that or I will repeat another week like this one; a lot of wall banging and weeping in small, dark corners. It’s all good in the life of a designer.

Flash! (Ah ah)

In the next few weeks I hope to be concentrating on my website. For years I’ve found flash websites to be too large to run effectively, and annoying to the point of eventually giving up at even looking at the company.

But E-bloc and Lightmaker are the new (well…) kids on the block, with great innovative designs and easy interfaces. These are great pioneers in the world of flash websites. And they certainly have found a way to make me hang around and actually wait for the site to load now!

www.ologyworld.com

www.jkrowling.com/en

Winston’s Writen Words

I absolutely adore Sam Winston. He was one of the first links I put up in the Links list and he’s a designer whom I’d be happy to model myself on. His works are very tactile, thoughtful, and precisely constructed, and the use of typography as something subtle rather than pointed in an intriguing concept.

The fact that they all involve the media of paper makes his work only that bit more interesting, especially when considering the possibility of paper as a topical resource in the environmental debate. Anyway, head on over to his site and take a gander at the work there.

Theron’s Illustration

I was look through the latest issue of Digital Arts and I found some beautiful work by Sarel Theron.

Yes, I choose the piratey picture. I know. But if you visit the site have a look at some of the close-ups of his work. They’re amazing. The detail and control he offers over his work is outstanding. Lovely stuff.

The Last Samurai?

Welcome to the second year, firsties!

Yep. This was the mission for last Mondays lesson. We had to make a sculpture as tall as possible using only a single newspaper. We may have cheated! And the sellotape may have magically disappeared too.

To be green, or not to be green?

That’s the question. With the brief “surviving the 21st century” in mind, it makes you think about the “green” issue facing the planet at the moment. A brilliant eye-opener to the environmental issues of our time can be found at St Fagans near Cardiff, where their “eco house” provides a startling look at the problems today concerning waste and consumption. Have a look at these interesting facts;

Go Pulp Fiction on your Typography

I found this yesterday from a link I received off a professional graphic designer who apologised for the graphic content but recommended it none the less. Personally, as a fan of Pulp Fiction style films, I love the fast pace and angst in this short presentation. It could be said that perhaps it is, indeed, too fast, but I think the quick, fluid movement of text is what holds the thing together.

Easy Rider

We were talking about this advert in a lecture the other day and I felt I had to post a link to it because it’s truely a fantastic example of great advertising. Everything about it cries for attention; the dialogue, the imagery, the pauses and stops between each structured second. Ah! I love it. Anyway go, have a look.