Emily's Graphic Design Blog

 For this lesson, we were tasked with designing a character of type with cut-out illustrations or shapes. To link with my ongoing project, I chose to use imagery of apples, leaves and branches. I used the 'S' in the logo of the Somerset Cider Brandy Company as my shape. To begin I folded a piece of paper and cut out the shapes I required, cutting two sides at once. Once cut, I began assembling the design creating clusters of the apples and leaves where the stroke of the line was thickest. In between these elements I used branches as connecters, giving contrast and realism to the tree design. Once assembled, photographs were taken with a bright spot light placed across the pattern to give darker shadows. This is an interesting and effective method of forming type and combining illustration.

After completing my experimental research into different media, I decided that the fine lined illustration used to form the wood block imitation design, was the most suited to the brand. The style combined the traditional illustration with a modern design as the bold lines gave impact. Using this as inspiration, I began re-designing the brandy box. To best use the design, I wanted to create a continuous pattern around the four sides of the box. I measures and drew the box net on A3 paper and using the previous design as a starting point, illustrated the pattern to follow the width of the net. I wanted to incorporate the design on the top and bottom of the tall box to fill the space but also frame the type in the centre. Therefore, I needed to measure the height of the space I wanted the illustration to fill. To join the pattern continuously, the design needed to be cut in half and the pages swapped, to connect the outside edges together in the centre. Once the hand-drawing...

In this lesson, we experimented with juxtaposition and the use of contrast in graphic design. We were tasked to design posters for the National Portrait Gallery for the exhibit 'Ugly: Beauty through the ages'. For these designs, I focused on the use of painted portraits rather than photography, to connect with the National Portrait Gallery. I wanted to use contrast to make the audience question the title 'Ugly' and what or if anything is being considered ugly in the poster. To do this, I juxtaposed the statuesque image of the royal portraits with brighter and more exotic portraits. By de-saturating the background portraits and keeping the colour in the foreground images, the contrast raises questions. Are the realist paintings more beautiful than the colourful works of post-impressionism and symbolism? To emphasise the title, 'ugly' I used the ink dropper tool to select a colour from the foreground images, creating a cohesive design.

As the third medium to experiment with, I used Charcoal pencils. These give a dark black line and high contrast whilst keeping the same texture as oil pastel. This gives them a traditional yet abstract feel. However, as these are charcoals in a pencil form, they have a sharp point forming smaller strokes than the larger oil pastels, allowing for more detail to be added. The monotone element of the medium allows for more emphasis on tone and light rather than colour. The black and white also provides a more edgy aesthetic with a modern industrial feel, a bit more removed from the countryside setting of the distillery. The monotone nature of the medium also allows for the editing techniques learnt in the 'wood cut' lesson, using the 'duotone' tools to edit the colour of the entire piece. In the example below, I used a red monotone to give a printed feel and colourful impact. This is perhaps the most removed medium from the current style of the Somerset Cider Brandy Com...

The next medium I chose to experiment with was Oil Pastel, due to its bold colours and distinctive textures. The strokes are quite large, therefore the overall image is more abstract. I chose to illustrate an apple as this would provide colour and tone to practice with. Different pastels need to be layered to mix colours, which doesn't allow for extensive blending. This layering provides a stylised appearance with bolder colours providing a more modern feel. Despite this, the design is still traditional with its uneven texture that is difficult to replicate graphically and natural colours. This medium also provides two dimensions with distance providing more clarity to the image. The medium suits the Somerset Cider Brandy Company's traditional ideologies and bright countryside location.