Graceland

The above image is my interpretation of the pool room in Graceland (pictured below). The entire room is covered in tapestry and so I represented this by rolling pieces of newspaper into cylinder shapes and assembling them around the page. I followed this by creating the key elements of the room - the pool table, sofa and lights. I used a mixture of newspaper and watercolours to make these and layered them on top of the newspaper cylinders. 

Research

My design brief for the EPQ centres around how influential ancient art, specifically Egyptian art, can be on modern day art and design. Currently I am in the research process, which started with a trip to Manchester museum. Here I noted the use of hieroglyphics, patterns and colours and the artefacts the designs could be found on, which most commonly ere coffins and stone reliefs.

I then further researched into specific Egyptian techniques such as perspective, scale and colour. Next, I aim to investigate further areas such as the canon of proportions and the use of hieroglyphics.

Helvetica - film opinions

No matter what you're opinion in Helvetica is, you can't deny the impact it has had. Before watching 'Helvetica', I knew little about the history of the typeface. After watching, I now can't go anywhere without noticing it in so many different contexts.
What I learnt from the film was just Helvetica has come to represent a period of modernism and idealism. It's come to represent a period of change in design, whether that's for better or worse.
One could argue that it's simplicity has allowed the typeface to resonate with so many different people  due to the multiple interpretations it holds. Yet others have argued it's this simplicity which has made it boring. It has become a default font used by too many people, with designers ignoring the  chance to start experimenting again. The mass use of Helvetica has begun to symbolise the surge of globalisation and consumerism, which come with negative connotations. However, although I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, I do believe it may be time to start developing new ideas for typefaces once again.
Overall, what I enjoyed most about the film was learning how typesfaces can be a way of communicating ideas, and seeing how passionate designers can be about this.

Favourite quote:"typefaces are my friends"; I do believe I will be saying this in 10 years time!

Observational Drawings

A series of rough sketches drawn from observing primary sources.

Paula Scher

Paula Scher is  a pioneering American graphic designer. Her career has involved designing various projects for many different companies. Some of her most notable accreditations include her work for CBS Records where she designed around 150 album covers a year, for which she received 4 Grammy nominations. 

Much of her career has focused on the development of typography, helping to produce brand identities. She has worked closely with the Public Theater which lead to the development of graphic design in the theatre industry. Within this project her graphic work stemmed from typography inspired by graffiti and street art. Scher has designed logos for many major brands, ranging from Windows 8 and Citi Bank, before moving on to designing artistic exhibitions.

I am particularly intrigued by Scher's murals created for the Queens Metropolitan Campus in New York. The two murals  cover about 740 square metres and project Scher’s take on a map of New York around the room. This involves the misspelling and misidentification of locations  to represent Scher learning geography along with the students.  The concept behind the murals  was to combine painting with environmental design to produce a feeling of the viewer being   engulfed into the room, and for that instant perspectives are skewed.  In the words of Scher: “The viewer can recognise places and roads and even locate themselves within the map. They are ‘there,’ and then, again, they are not.”

I took inspiration my Scher's murals and 'MAPS' project and designed my own map. The basis of many of her projects involves the drawing of a map from memory and so I started painting a basic map of Manchester from memory. I then added more detail but due to it being my take on a map of Manchester it is not that accurate, much like Scher's misspelling and misidentification of locations. I loosely followed a similar colour scheme to Scher's as well as a similar layout, such as different shades depending on the size of the road and a yellow line to represent the Metrolink. I decided to paint this piece not only because that is the method Scher chose for her original pieces but also because it links to the maps being personal. However if I were to produce another map I would think about planning the map more to make it neater, although I did enjoy the experience of editing the piece as I went along.

A2 3D design work

For my 3D design coursework I set my own design brief which was to make an installation for an art gallery based on the theme of travelling. Below are some of the slides from my project. 

I began my project by visiting the Whitworth gallery in Manchester to gain initial inspiration. 

This lead to my exploration of the installation artist Cornelia Parker.

To further my research I investigated other pre-existing installations in order to obtain more ideas.

For my context I looked at items related to the theme of travelling, such as tickets and maps.

From this I began to develop ideas for my installation.

I wanted to develop my fourth idea and so stretched the idea of travelling and took photos of transportation.

The following slides show my process of developing my fourth idea and my thought process on how to make it 3D.

Currently I am in the process of making my installation and I expect the final outcome to look like the Sketchup model above. I'm also going to design the backdrop using graphic software which will be projected onto the wall behind, I also hope to experiment with light photography.

Atlanta

During the summer I was fortunate to visit the southern states of Northern America. My trip started with a visit to Atlanta, Georgia. I was immediately attracted to the skyline which was particularly spectacular from Pemberton Place, which is where my sketch below is taken from. 

Also situated at Pemberton Place is the Coca Cola Museum which I decided to dedicate a page of my sketchbook to due to it being such a prestigious brand. From my visit to the Coke museum I learnt about more about the company and how it's been able to grow its brand. Coke has an iconic design, from the trademark Contour bottle shape through to the historic logo. In order to pay homage to this design I papercut various bottle shapes (to represent the variety of Coke products in the present day) out of assorted tickets I collected that day. 

Memphis inspired lamp project

My second project as part of my AS coursework involved designing and making a lamp inspired by the Memphis design movement.

My project began with my visit to the Cooper Hewitt design museum in New York which had exhibitions on experimentation and design processes.

I then researched the Memphis design movement and looked at real life structures which showed influence of Memphis design.

This led to my investigation into the De Stijl design movement and pioneering design Piet Mondrian.

Leading on from my research I began developing ideas from card and then sketching them.

Before beginning my development process I looked at the concept of 'structures' to gain further inspiration.

My development process involved exploring how the lamp would be made in 3D, what materials should be used and colour schemes. 

To visualise my idea in 3D I first designed a Sketchup model and then a final card model.