OUGD602 - 'The Printworks' Branding Analysis

Whilst reading the magazine 'Computer Arts' Issue #264, I noticed an article on 'The Printworks' branding conducted by Leeds based studio Only. This article caught my attention due to the aesthetic appeal and relatable content to my own practice, therefore I wanted to analyse the brand identity further to grasp a better understanding of why I found its aesthetic and style so appealing.

The brand identity spans across all aspects of the design, following the idea of motion within the printing press, this places high priority on dynamic typography throughout the whole identity. From static posters to animation, this idea of motion is represented, I found this particularly inspiring on the static typography and print based media as many different methods have been adapted to represent fluidity and movement. For example, rolling warped type, repetition and stacked type have all been used to give the type characteristics and movement personality. The monotone colour scheme also creates a bold high contrast which can relate back to the authenticity of black and white film and print. This creates focus on the small amounts of colour photography in the designs and acts as a boarder to draw the viewers eye to the focal points on each page.

OUGD602 - Brief 1 - Self Set Personal Branding Brief

OUGD602 - Following up the Mixmag Internship Opportunity

Since coming back from London, I have followed up by emailing the creative director at Mixmag about the internship opportunity. Hopefully, I can continue to pursue this opportunity throughout the year.

OUGD602 - Spitalfields Arts Market

Spitalfields Arts Market is located in the Shoreditch area of London and is a huge collective hub of stalls with artists work showcased and being sold from all over the country. This work can range from prints, pottery, jewellery, paintings, fashion and just about anything considered creative.

OUGD602 - London Tate Modern Museum Visit

The day after the YCN Awards ceremony I visited the Tate Modern, below are a selection of photographs from my favourite pieces being exhibited.

I find that the more I learn about the theoretical and historical aspects of design, the more I am appreciating work showcased within galleries like this. In particular, the minimalist pieces by artists such as Piet Mondrian and Mark Rothko were really interesting, but this is the only time I have ever really began to appreciate their work after studying the minimalist movement and understanding their rejection of abstract expressionism by artists such as David Carson. I found this structured and simplified design really fascinating as the artists had still managed to embody emotion in their work by utilising subtle nuances and colour without the need for paint splatters everywhere which could be seen in the abstract expressionism movement.

I also found much of the postmodern design very interesting, I believe that this stems from a greater knowledge of the movement from my context of practice essay in level 5 last year which was based on the transition between modernism and postmodernism. Andy Warhol's prints were a particular highlight from all of this work which I saw.

Other than this, I found many of the aesthetics on the typographic prints extremely relatable due to my interest in typography as a graphic designer. There was a large section with german type which really embodied similarities with much of the type in Berlin seen on the European trip in level 5. This has further inspired me to hopefully experiment with foreign typography within this upcoming year.