07/12/10 Production for Visual Communications: An Introduction

 "When and how was the first ever Book in Europe printed?"

Gutenberg bible (1445) was the first (real) book to be printed in Europe (more specifically Mainz, Germany), by Johannes Gutenberg. The production of the bible used Gutenberg’s invention of practical movable type. He made metal moulds using dies, into which he could pour hot liquid metal to produce separate letters the same shape as those written by hand. Such letters could be then arranged and rearranged as many times as need be to create different pages from the same letters. Gutenberg then introduced the printing press to press the type against paper. For this he used a hand press. Ink was rolled over the raised surfaces of the handset letters held within a wooden frame, and the frame was then pressed against the paper. This technique enabled sharp impressions on both sides of a sheet of paper and many repetitions. After a page was printed, the type could be reused for printing other pages. His invention of mass printing practices caused the whole industry to change. Previously this European audience had only seen books that were copied out by hand or printed from hand-carved wooden blocks, which greatly affected legibility. Furthermore, wooden blocks were very time consuming and had a short life span, thus causing this to be described as the ‘invention of the millennium.’

"Produce a workflow diagram for your L4 visual work to date based on your RVJs and notes etc."

 A workflow is described as a “Graphical depiction of steps taken, time spent, distance travelled, and other aspects of the way a particular piece of work is done.” They are used to help people understand the process of work and steps needed to be taken within a business. Media used would vary depending on the purpose. One made for a business would need to written on a computer and be legible. One used by myself, to work out what I need to do for a project, is only intended for me to understand, so legible writing for all isn’t so important. The following shows workflow diagram of a recent project that was to produce an eight page zine on “The Underbelly of Birmingham.” It explains visually the work process that took place for this project and the constant interaction between me and my tutor to help push the project further. The books were produced to be sold on at artist fairs, and the project was to teach us about book making.

30/11/10 Text and Image

 “How does text affect meaning of an image?”

Without text, an image could mean almost anything. It isn’t until text is added that the audience can fully understand the image and its context. At a glance it may appear fairly innocent and meaningless but could be the holder of tragedy and grief. Alternatively the image could express ones memory and so on, so be personal to the artist/photographer etc. Thus the meaning is unknown until script/word/sentences are added. Alternatively, images can contain signs that give an indication of the message. For example, the time of day and weather conditions of an image would reflect its mood and perhaps message. Joel Sternfelt produced a series of images taken of murder sites. Text is excluded (and so a script would have been shown alongside the photograph for the audience to read for an explanation), initial thoughts will be naïve. In contrast, Sternfelt has chosen a miserable, perhaps wet day to take this image as an attempt to give clues of its meaning expressing the grief shed over the event and so on. In the end, text is the only way of giving the image its true context.

“How does text effect the emotion of an image?”

Without the use of text, an image can give out certain feelings and emotions through very obvious mechanisms, such as simply photographing a crying woman etc. However, text can cut to the core and emphasize this further or in contrast contradict initial thoughts and explain a photo’s true meaning. Jim Goldberg photographed the homeless, those in poverty and terminal patients, and asked them to write on the image of what happened to them. The stories now become personal. The following image causes the audience to feel empathy for the man. Cues are given like the man being tightly wrapped up in the blanket (somewhat resembling an Egyptian Mummy), restricted of movement and perhaps being treated as if he is dead already. However, the text that he provides changes your view as he explains that now his life has become easier, giving a sense of relief to the audience and puts the image into context.

            Jenny Holzer produced work by plastering messages across giant advertising hoarding in Times Square, New York. Her messages are challenging and present contradictory opinions, in the hope of sharpening people’s awareness arising different emotions towards the ‘usual baloney that are fed’ in daily life, highlighting issues in dramatic ways. Without the text the image doesn’t mean anything, but these backgrounds are just used purely for dramatic purposes. She uses billboards, LED signs and so on, blazing phrases in places they wouldn’t be expected to be seen, provoking emotion and thought.

23/11/10 Development of Creative Thought and Structure in Illustration and Graphic Art

“Developing Ideational Fluency”

“Ideational fluency can be defined as easily produced ideas that fulfill certain requirements.” To achieve this, tools such as Classification, Brainstorming and Mind Mapping are used. It refers to the quantity and diversity, but not necessarily the quality of ideas. When given a brief, visual communicators need to immediately start generating different ideas and directions for the project. As stated before this method is more greatly concerned with quantity, as analyzing and evaluating the ideas after

experimentation and discussion will then increase the idea’s quality. Classification allows recognition of common denominators and making connections between ideas. Brainstorming helps develop spontaneous thinking and generate more ideas, and Mind Mapping organizes thought process and encourages associations between these thoughts. The organization of thoughts is important, as connection between ideas become more apparent, and it is these connections that can lead to the development of higher quality ideas. Creative people usually think/work better visually, and so these method cause physical/visual connections between the thoughts to be made. Ideational Fluency is likely to not make much sense to others and is only really for the one who wrote it, to organize their thoughts. Here are some examples of my own Ideational Fluency, both visual representations of initial ideas and thoughts to kick-start my projects. Some ideas link to others to reflect their common denominators. Using a range of colors is particularly useful so connections can be highlighted visually and understanding the ideas perhaps made easier. From these I then was able to make connections and recognize stronger ideas, experiment and develop them further. A key aspect of generating ideas could also be discussion. Thoughts maybe interpreted differently and so generating further connections and ideas.  

“Managing a Creative Environment”

Sarah Coleman is a Freelance Illustrator and Calligrapher who has produced work for books, as well as sport companies and so on. Her studio space walls are plastered with her work and the work of those who inspire her; the desks are filled with sheets of paper, brushes, crayons, inks, paints and even the occasional potato for printing. Work appears to take place all over the room, including the floor, and she has many storage compartments for materials and things she has collected to fuel her inspiration. For illustrator such as herself it’s hard to find time off so she has to make use of things around her for new ideas, which could include watching a movie or reading a book. These sources are only for the benefit of that one illustrator, different people will be inspired by different things and thus collect different type of inspiration. One’s studio will reflect one’s own interests and their way of working. Information gathered needs to be relevant to and be in context with what an illustrator is working on and the work produced will reflect the illustrators own interpretation of the brief and inspiration. I try to create an innovative environment to work in. I usual find myself working everywhere within the space, making use of each area possible, moving to different places when I start new things and want to start a fresh with a change of scenery. I like to use a wide range of media and am a hoarder, covering my wall with postcards, images and even clothes tags. A lot of things inspire me; I often spend time searching through my grandmother’s collections of buttons, stamps and so on, to find new inspiration, such as patterns found on an old coin.