7x7 Image #2

REFLECTION #2 - Extended Practice Group Crit

FEEDBACK

Ideas for further projects:
- Women's empowerment gif > make it work for you
- Re-visit Morris dancers > large figures, MDF cut-outs
- Regular zines to maintain momentum
- Monotype brief > no pressure to submit; respond organically

Current tone of voice/ audience/ direction:
- Maintaining usual comical, naive and playful tone of voice but applying it to more meaningful narratives
- Continue to push the character design previously explored to sustain the accessibility of my work
- Inclusivity and accessibility is key, but my work potentially appeals more to those with an interest in the value of community and heritage; locals, workers etc

Realisations to achieve for portfolio:
- A large body of experimental type > language is pivotal now
- REMEMBER THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE LIKE EVERY OTHER ILLUSTRATOR
- A collection of heritage focussed zines demonstrating a wide body of research but cohesive visual language
- Banners/ textiles/ applied illustration

Other feedback:
- Check out folk songs for traditional messages and phrases e.g. Skye Walking Song

REFLECTION #2

My continuous sketchbook practice has been really transformative in my construction and development of type and language based images. Exploring the line qualities of different brushes has shaped a new visual identity for my type work which is clean, bold and refined, celebratory of heritage sign writing, whilst still embodying the playful embellishments of my wider practice.

I feel I have really pinned down the most successful and effective applications of line in my construction of type to achieve a visual language that is both playful and sophisticated. This has involved moving away from my usually quite varied lettering approaches and focussing more on one consistent approach to letter forms. For me, I think the transformative element was considering the visual language of the traditional counterparts of my modern banners, echoing traditional typographic forms with the format and composition of contemporary illustration work. 

At this stage in the project, I am still developing the narrative structure of the banners, but I feel I have consolidated an aesthetic which should carry through into new language as I explore colloquialisms.  The ‘left right left’ image feels like a real success as it maintains the play and joy of my image making, with the graphic application of type in a union that seems quite complimentary. The square format is a success in this piece but this may be challenged as I work with longer narratives; exploration of composition in my sketchbook will be pivotal to the development of this.