TURNING POINTS/ REALISATIONS
Responding to a live brief at first seemed really daunting as I was not in control of the content and subject matter, however this actually seemed to drive my progress as I experimented with a tone of voice, aesthetic and compositional approach that I am not entirely familiar with. The context of the brief pushed me out of my usual visual language and as such, I was much more experimental as I threw myself into play in order to generate a new visual language I could apply to the brief. Mono print played a key role in the project as I experimented with new tools, working textures into the plate before printing to reveal some very fuzzy and fluid shapes and textures which attained results that were much more visually rich than a straight positive/ negative block colour print.
WHAT WENT WELL?
I feel my final outcomes work cohesively as a series whilst composing different elements, a quality I have been able to achieve through exhaustive exploration and manipulation of shape and texture. I created a large body of components that could be manipulated individually whilst sustaining a consistent visual identity.
Typography was pivotal to this brief and whilst I have dabbled in hand lettering before, I didn’t really have a grasp of type and layout in a more formal sense. Working with such fluid and abstract imagery enabled me to further my interest in hand rendered type in a way that was appropriate to the brief and harmonious to the other visual elements. I did explore using hand lettering for all the information but for the event details I felt clarity was key and as such, I pushed myself to explore digital type on photoshop. The digital application of type taught me valuable considerations of layout and scale and I think my final outcomes were strengthened by the clarity and structure of this.
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED?
Although the tone of voice and context of this brief was very different to my usual work, I think I could have invested more time in finding myself in the brief. I did maintain the commitment to play, shape and texture that I explore in all my work, but I think I lost the humour and character of my practice, a quality which I think is essential in a professional practice, being able to capture a brief within your own visual language.
My exploration of collage, type and composition was thorough and exhaustive, but I would be interested to see how the posters would have developed had I explored overlays and developments within my mono-prints.
REFLECTION
This brief has proved really instrumental in my consideration of how I can extend my practice beyond my immediate visual language. As my practice focuses heavily on light-hearted, playful narratives, this brief has been valuable in encouraging me to consider manipulation of process to attain new outcomes and languages from my common practices. Technically, the brief has challenged my digital skills, enabling me to explore and practice type and layout and, complex overlays. I felt that I invested a great deal in exploring compositions through analogue collage, a success I feel is discernible in my final outcomes as they have achieved balance in a very fluid and abstract visual language.
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