Looking at Universities - 1

The University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is a University that I have been considering for time and is one that seems to be a nearly sure choice. As well as being a top red brick university, Leeds is 11th on the leader board of top universities on The Guardian website for Art and Design. It's history spans over 100's of years.
Being a major city in the UK, Leeds is a very well populated area and is popular for the music scene holding some of the world's best venues and festivals. This is something I find as a bonus to the social aspect of the city and it will be something to look forward to when moving away from the hometown.

5th Blog Review

'Mike Luce Illustration' is basically illustration work from Mike Luce. Illustration is another choice that I would like to follow as the work produced intrigues me because it is often more than just a picture of something, it is more about the intention behind the art. A meaning shown can be interpreted in many various ways and can be beautiful in one's eyes and atrocious in another's. The blog is just a display of his artwork and influential images are not shown to demonstrate where his ideas are coming from.

The design in my opinion is really bland and does not really instantly connect to illustration as a layout. Perhaps it was deliberate in order to make the illustrations stand out but it really doesn't appeal to me. The layout is really standard and pretty much aside an original template. Many shades of green and a little bit of black is used thoroughly on the blog and each different colour of green is to distinguish different kinds of text. Everything on the page seems to be floating like the information isn't fixed on the page. 

Two different fonts are used, one being serif and the other being sans serif. The serif font is used on the actual writing that is important and should be read, where as the sans serif font is used for the less important information and gives less of an urgent feel to read. The style of writing is rather informal and it is shared as something more basic.

4th Blog Review

Sparth is about concept design and visual development and this is something that I am interested in because it is something that I would like to have a career in following these kind of designs. The blogging style is very professional and insightful, but the posts aren't very regular. On average there is a post once a month.

A simplistic design of dark moody colours and basic forms of shapes are used to create the page and its form to offer a page of standard monthly posts. All the text and images are located on a central column of a paler colour to highlight the work and so it is easily established from the background and the black coloured font. The middle section makes the blog seem more together as a whole and seem more content in the way that the posts are more informative in a clearer structure of the information. The personalised logo blends in with the design and matches the theme of colours. It also signifies the type of genre the blog is and a sapmle of what can be expected.

Sophisticated language is used in his explanatory writing style accompanied by the images. Only a small amount of colloquial language is used, but when it is, it is used in a sensible way. Technical words are included in the writing but can be easily found out through the use of similar software he refers to. 

3rd Blog Review

'Knuckle Deep' is an art blog based on games and his own art work by posting all sorts of art pieces. This is what I think that I will follow as a career in the same subject. The blog posts are rather restricted in the topics that are more surreal and fantasy illustrations, game releases and photos. The majority of the posts are all of value to the blogger for inspiration and self purpose to show his own work.

The design of the blog follows a theme. The colours orange, and (various tones of) grey are used throughout the blog making the blog seem simple but thought about. Although the layout of the posts are centred, unlike 'an Architecture' the text has been displayed on the right hand side of the images perhaps making the images seem more important as they are the first thing to stand out due to the colours, and the general way of reading from left to right. The type / fonts used, apart from the blog title, makes the entirety of the blog seem serious. The style of the header induces a sense of informal feel to the genre of the blog. All the different headers and text can be easily distinguished.

The blogger uses their own opinions and style of personal writing to comment on partial posts that he seems to take a real interest to. Nearly all of his comments are postive and some what inspirational to himself as he it is read like they're discovering what they feels as they write. The images used to post are ones that are all very linked together in the way that they carry the same theme of fiction excluding the taken photo posts. Their own personal work is often blogged and although there are no development shots of the the progression, links can be found along with the work to show how it is done and where it may be featured.

2nd Blog Review

I've chosen to follow 'an Architecture' because it's based around an architectural subject and is very open with blog posts by posting not just about buildings, all the things that should be contemplated with architectural structures such as materials, inspiration and processes. Architecture is something that I like to follow because it is forever evolving in many various ways and can either be aesthetically pleasing or absolutely horrendous. 

The design of the blog is very friendly as the subtle colours have been used for the text on the page. The title is clearly distinguished using an interesting take on normal type with the angle of the letters and the one capital letter. The post headings can be read easily and can be easily told apart from the normal text. The layout of the page is standard with it all being centrally aligned and looks rather ordinary but there's also a sense of importance and sophistication as well. The colours used aren't really specific to the theme of subject but works quite well, perhaps as it is rather contradictory.

The style of writing is rather specific to the to Architecture with the language refering to architects reading the blog. The writing restricts the audience to a specific type of group of people that are technical limiting the blog to people who know the specific subject quite well. The posted images are very relevant to the topic and gives a selection of more than one view of the chosen post to view.

1st Blog Review

'Le Fashion' is a blog I've chosen to follow because the design instantly appeals to me as the style of the blog is based around fashion and that can be constantly updated with it being a suistainable subject and can be very opinionated. In this case, the blogger is quite open minded but the main things are that are posted are of self interest.

The design of the blog is very slick as a theme of black and white and a mix of serif, and sans serif fonts have been used to good accordance. The simplicity of the blog introduces an instant sense of a professional feel about the design and layout. The layout demonstrates a resemblance to a newspaper arcticle that is formatted to be all centred on the page so the main focus is on all of the posts and is easy to read as the centre is generally the first place a person is likely to look.

The genre of writing is mainly just opinionated comments on a few of the many various photos that are posted. Because of the type of blog, not much writing is needed as the pictures indicate the subjet of the blog. The style of the posted images are all similar in the way that you can pick up a certain style from what she intends to indicate through the fashion shown.

Google Reader

So, using Google Reader, I've found that everything is so much easier to monitor when looking at other's blogs. The drop down menu navigation on the left hand side shows what is / has been selected, what has been recently updated in each blog. It is familiar as it is used in many other programmes and is easily accessible.

Influential Research 2

Computer Arts Magazine, issue 177 (August 2010)

Article: 'Exposure - Get Your Work Seen (Sami Viljannto)'

(An article on the upcoming freelance Illustrators/graphic designers)

'Skinny legged wolves can't jump'

Although this article isn't much to read, the content is rather informative on the artist and demonstrates a simple profile of his work and his text. The language used is rather informal and unspecified and is fun to read in ways. It briefly describes his life as a freelance illustrator from the history of it to recent times and to where he is now. Quotes have been stated from the article himself and it helps give the article a more of a personal insight to his mind. At the end, information is also displayed about where his work can be alternatively found.

The two pictures displayed with the text shows his techniques as a Illustrator at the fullest. What caught my eye the most as I looked through the magazine the probably this image I have posted within this post. It's more of what appeals to me and is something is perhaps a style that I want to move into as a desginer.

Influential Research 1

Computer Arts Magazine, issue 177 (August 2010)

Article: 'Inspiration Workshop'

(An article on the Illustrator/designer and being behind Noborw Press)

This article in the Computer Arts magazine is of interest to me because it talks about what goes on behind all the issues of the image magazine and explains how it is put together. This is what inspires me to be a designer thinking up abstract pieces and making collections of themed art that is surreal to the reality of things.

The content of the article suited and is thorough in explaining about the process behind the magazine. The style of writing is informative but nothing too complex for readers that may be lacking in technical language / skills in the same area. The basics of the magazine and what it is, is stated in the beginning section along with a link to the website where more of the work can be found officially. The information about the magazine is in chronological order and gets more explanatory as the article is read more into. I think the article is put together really well but could maybe change where the text is in compliance to the pictures used to display what some of it is about. in return, the images used are all linked together in the way they have been taken and suit the article.

The 50's and the 60's at home - how things were different.

The 1950's

Towards the end, the majority of countries had largely recovered from World War II. Clashes of communism and capitalism dominated the decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere of the world along with increased testing of nuclear weapons therefore creating a politically conservative climate.

The 1950s were the start of the age of the consumer. The post-war brought massive changes in the average home; it was out with the old and in with the new more modernised style of living. Open-plan living was introduced, and the fitted kitchen with brand new appliances, primary coloured decor with abstract and geometric shapes.

The 1960's

The 1960s were all free love, flower power and pop music and everything to do with the "Hippy" style. The previous decade's love of American design was replaced, as Swinging London became the centre of all the everyday homes of funky shapes, patterns

The style of the past decades had rejected historical influences in the spirit of rebellion. The result is a ragbag of styles recieved from all over, including Victorian and Edwardian, and the 1920s. But it was not just about replicating past styles; everything was given an irreverent twist to make it all its own. 

Pop art and op art led the1960s. Artists such as Andy Warhol and David Hockney with their pop art references to the culture / generation of time (soup cans, comic strips, images of icons like Marilyn Monroe) crossed over into interiors, and on to murals, wallpaper and posters and just about everywhere. Similarly, op art with its use of pattern and colour to simulate movement found its way into everyday living from everything from furniture to wallpaper. Artists such as Bridget Riley, who works with black and white in the majority of pieces of art, became the vogue.

Festival of Britain

The Festival of Britain was a national art exhibition which was held place in London and later on many other places around Britain, May 1951. The official opening was on 3 May. The main location for the Festival of Britain was on the South Bank Site, in London. Outside of London, major festivals took place in Cardiff, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath, Perth, Bournemouth, York, Aldeburgh, Inverness,Cheltenham, Oxford and many other bases.

At that time, shortly after the end of World War II, much of London was destroyed and left in ruins and redevelopment of the city was needed desperately. The Festival was to help give Britons a feeling of recovery, redemption, progress and to promote better-quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities following the end of the war as sort of a celebration.

The graphic designer for the Festival of Britain poster was Abram Games who had been the Official War Poster artist and whose iconic use of symbols of the Festival remains memorable.

Misha Black, one of the Festival architects, said that the Festival opened up a wide audience for architectural modernism but that it was common factor with professional architects that the design of the Festival was not innovative. The architects also tried to show by their design and layout of the South Bank Festival what could be achieved by applying modern town planning ideas. Numerous amounts of buildings on the main South Bank site became the main symbol of the festival.

18th October 2010, a study visit to Sheffield Art Galleries

Millennium Gallery, Museum Sheffield

Restless Times: Art in Britain 1914 - 1945

Unfortunately, the museum didn't allow any pictures to be taken so we couldn't acquire any of the featured art works in the gallery, but names were taken down and we researched two of the personal favourites of artists out of the the gallery.

(no photo)

Artist: Roland Penrose

Art Piece: Elephant Bird Collage

One of the pieces that caught my eye was the 'Elephant Bird Collage' as the techniques used in the design was rather modern and different compared to the rest of the pieces in the gallery. He displayed it as a photo montage using what seemed like traditional techniques to create the picture. The colours used were bright and the surrealism gave the art a unique look compared to the majority of the pieces on show.

Artist: Jankel Adler

Art Piece: The Mutilated

This oil painting on canvas captivated me because it's simple but very effective. The kind of textures of the painting used indicates a much more deep / three dimensional definition of the piece. To my opinion, this piece demonstrates that the figure on the left seems like the person is getting rejected and is at more of an elderly age contrasting to the younger figure on the right whom seems more agile. It in someways, shows the selfishness of the times of people in need during the Second World War. The picture's theme of colours show the type of direct meaning of the reality in those year and how things became much more confused and separated from each other being affected and influenced by the devastation of what the outcame became.

The Sheffield Institue of Arts Gallery

Abram Games: Maximum Meaning Minimum Means

Abram Games was one of the most celebrated graphic designers in the 20th century. His work consists of the history of Britain, company logos, posters, stamps, and products. The exhibition brings together all his original art and shows them as an archive.

Abram Games' work is appealing to me because of the simple graphic style he uses to display his hidden agenda behind the art. The pieces bring positive emotions to what the art is really about. The colours he uses stands out and catches the eye from afar, furthermore his art he uses symbolic yet simplistic shapes to show familiar forms in a cartoon style. This gallery appealed more to me because the art was more visually interesting in many ways and the mood of the gallery was more  made up on own opinions rather than ligthing and music in the background to create a specific atmosphere like in the first gallery we visited.