Zabludowicz Collection, London

The Zabludowicz Collection in London always exhibits really alternative, weird and out-there artists who test the use of technology and push video art. My most recent visit found me the subject of a silent chamber. You are locked in a light-proof and sound-proof square for 5 minutes. The idea is you lose all form of perception and enter a deep state of tranquility. This is what happened and it was a really cool experience. 

Going to exhibitions and keeping engaged with creatives and what's getting out there really enhances our understanding of both the art and logical world.

Haroon Mirza / HRM199: FOR A PARTNERSHIP SOCIETY

Haroon Mirza delves into our understanding of the relationship between matter and consciousness, truth and belief. He creates unique physical experiences at the intersection of art, architecture, sculpture, sound and music. Each of the four works respond in some way to the building, artworks and context of the Collection.

For a Partnership Society centres on the notion that coexistence is a vital and positive force in a healthy society. The title is derived from a theory proposed in 1987 by American scholar and activist Raine Eisler. She described opposing social structures: the dominator model, namely matriarchy or patriarchy, and the partnership model based on the principle of linking rather than ranking. Her ideas were later taken up by Terence McKenna in his exploration of human evolution and our relationship to psychoactive plants. “Eilser believes that the tension between partnership and dominator organisations and the overexpression of the dominator model are responsible for our alienation from nature, from ourselves and from each other.”

Chamber for Endogenous DMT (Collapsing the Wave Function)

Beth Kettel

Working with text, video, costume, sound and sculpture Beth Kettel produces performances and installations that prod and stretch language; its meaning and its feeling.

Kettel presents a new performance grounded in an experimental text, continuing her series using and misusing elements of game shows. The Mist of a Pessimist borrows from rounds and sounds to structure the work: catchphrases as narrative hooks, contestants as characters, a colour palette setting the scene, and The Host, assistants and an omniscient voice-over offering multiple voices. Presented on the opening night, this performance will be video-recorded and subsequently projected in the Invites gallery alongside props and costumes, forming the exhibition installation.

Module Evaluation

OUGD502 has been a really enjoyable and pleasant experience. Reflection on my own practice has really made me self-evaluate in an introspective way, which is important for progression. Looking at what responses were successful and what were not, as well as what I enjoyed and what I did not, means I can progress to Level 6 with a clear idea of where my strength and weaknesses lie.

Sessions on aspects of the profession like copyright laws and how to price your work provide excellent intel for preparation for industry. Similarly, the push to contact practicing professionals further made me engage with people I would normally be too shy to talk with. I found the creative report to be initially really overwhelming. I am really bad with people I don’t know and get quite anxious about asking questions in general – a bad character trait that I know needs conquering. As such, I interviewed someone who was incredibly inspiring and motivating. Ally allowed me to feel more at ease in my own aspirations, as well as focus on my own work and tastes. She also made me understand to really try everything whilst still at Uni as afterwards resources are fewer and jobs become more restricted.   

I have always been relatively okay with presenting, as long as I know and am passionate about what is to be communicated. I found the presentation this year very enjoyable. I felt at ease when I was in front of the small group talking and felt I communicated myself well. Listening to everyone’s presentations made me really excited and impressed by my peers in the class. Everyone had a distinct identity and were genuinely getting out there and doing their own things. I was not happy at all with the fact that no feedback was given to each person, apart from a statement at the end stating all our presentations needed to focus more on conventional and taught graphic design. This really annoyed me as I felt the communication between tutors must’ve been very off. As students, we were responding to what we were told – a presentation about who we are and what we are doing beyond the course. For a lot of people to get up and talk in front of an audience is extremely nerve-racking and it was evident that although some people struggled, they delivered their piece really well. For the tutor who was marking us to state this at the end was somewhat demoralising, and felt as if they just had not been paying attention to any of our presentations.

It is a shame because I found PPP as a module to hold a lot of value and to be really necessary. It is certainly a key characteristic of the course that prepares the students for industry, not only through visiting professionals but also through getting more comfortable with pitching your ideas. Even if one may not have to stand up in front of a room of people and pitch an idea, within this sector of work its evident that we will always need to be convincing others of our ideas and designs. Unfortunately, this approach from the staff conveyed it trivially.

SB1: A Creative Strategy

This year has seen a real exploration of every type of design from publication design, to branding, moving image, video, photography, poster design and so on. 
The main thing that has stood out has been a focus on music. Designing projection visuals for events has gotten me a lot of attention within this industry, it has been the first time on the course so far that I have found something I see myself doing in the future. The scope of opportunity to work with amazing people at festivals, concerts, gigs, events and even music videos, as well as the endless outcomes that could be used, makes me extremely excited for the future.

- I am particularly into the aesthetics of the psychedelic movement of the 60s and 70s and the positivity and vibrancy it withholds, as well as the incredible typography and political undertones. 

- Found something that encompasses my values

- The kind of people I want to be around are creative minds. This university has shown me the incredible talents around, and how fusing people with various specialities together can produce really successful outcomes. 

- Creating something for a purpose has definitely driven me more this year. Having a real life client and a real end goal to some of the design work provided a great deal of momentum behind its process, meaning the outcomes were a lot more appreciated 

- My online presence needs to improve as have been bad at social media and am afraid of criticism and judgement, however I have got over this fear through getting my work out there and it being well-recieved. My goal for the beginning on level 6 is to have a functioning Instagram account and the plans of a website (to sell some prints as well). 

- Motion graphics have been a great progression this year in taking my design work that one step further into a professional setting. Learning how to use After Effects and Photoshop Timeline on my own has shown me what you can achieve if you really want to. The only issue is After Effects does not function on my personal laptop as it is too slow, meaning I will not be able to experiment over the summer holidays and improve my work. I know a bad craftsman always blames his tools, but it has become evident to me that with good equipment and software, you can go a lot further in this industry. 

- Finally after my COP 2 investigation, sustainable fashion has become a focus for me in many ways. Learning about the detrimental impacts of the fast fashion industry on the environment as well as the people in LDCs, really surprised me as it seems like such a dominant yet unknown thing. During the summer I will be working at festivals with Oxfam upcycling donated clothing to sell at their stalls in the hope of reducing waste. 

Creative Report: ISSUU link

https://issuu.com/daniellahenning/docs/creative_report_

Summer Photography

With the OUDG504 module, the first of Level 5, came a focus on the role of a Graphic Designer within layout. The design for print studio brief that encouraged us to focus solely on the design decisions of type colour and layout. This made me think more about how my role as a designer can impact the reception of a photograph (considerations for collaborations and publication design). As such with some of the images I had taken over summer, I produced frames that seek to heighten the senses of the images. By shouting a colour, a certain mood is enforced from that image onto the viewer. 

I am looking into starting an online store selling these as prints. 

This is my favourite composition, as it reminds me of Hockney's 'A Bigger Splash'

Typography

Instagram is a great platform for poster design, with design platforms like Slanted and It's Nice That, constantly sharing new works from editorials. Additionally the 365 poster challenge - where a person designs a new poser every day for a year - is another craze that allows constant exposure to new and exciting graphic design productions on social media. Paying attention to what's getting out there, allows me to form my own tastes and build off the compositional ideas I have, as well as find the newest typefaces and trends. 

Below are some of the works that were shared with me online, where the type choices really stood out to me. The techniques range vastly in style and as such have a very different tone of voice, from more loud and neutral, to relaxed waves, harsh corners, and time specific (the logotypes are a lot more stylised as they have a much stronger sense of purpose to one thing and thus would not be used for a body of text).

RESEARCH:


  






RESPONSE:

Taking inspiration from the posters and ways type had been used, I wanted to experiment with my own imagery the ways type and image can be used together productively. Using a mixture of photographs and old work, I delved into Photoshop to practice some poster design. The focus was on the words acting as images themselves, and ways to mirror the styles explored prior but with my own edge. 

I then wanted to test out moving image for use on online platforms. This gif poster combines various layers to create the glitch effect. Taking collages into the technological age in this way is great practice for the progression of my practice, as design for screen becomes more and more popular.