Kate Gibb

The two images below are screenprints by Kate Gibb, that I found on the Big Actives Blog. As compositions I think that they work well, especially the first image, (my favoutrite of the two). I think that the first image is a very eye catching and striking image. I think that this is down to the use of the variations of the vibrant blue colour that has been used.



http://www.bigactive.com/

The light blue colour that has been chosen as the background colour works well with the rest of the piece. This gives the impression that the dark blue head is lifted from the page, which allows for impact. There is also a figure of a woman within the head shape. The detail within this section works well and I think that it could be classed as texture within the piece.

I love the process of screen printing, as it allows for great effects to be created. The amount of detail and texture that is created is what makes the process such a effective one. A outcome which may not have been able to be achieved otherwise. I had a go at screen printing the year before last when on my foundation course and from what I remember out of all the printing processes it gave a very professional outcome, definately something achieved in the two pieces shown above.

During one of the previous briefs last term I wanted to use some printing within my work to create interesting backgrounds, however I didnt get around to doing so. It is something that I would really like to have a play with with in future briefs, if appropriate.

Basement Jaxx

"If you caught Basement Jaxx recent headline show at London’s Wireless festival in Hyde Park you’ll have spotted some curious visuals that accompanied the band while they played their latest single ‘Raindrops’. The animation features the new artwork we’ve created for the band’s forthcoming album, Scars", http://www.bigactive.com/blog/

http://www.bigactive.com/blog/

I like this animation, especially the use of colour and I think that the style created in the animation reflects the way that I believe the music of the band to be portrayed; very upbeat, lively and vibrant.

This animation works well with the music. The syncronisation between the audio and visual is spot on. It reminds me not only of some of Tal Rosners work, but what I remember him saying about his pieces in his lecture last year. The way that inrigue and tension and different emotions can be visualised. The stacato like representation is very remenicant of the way that Tal Rosner uses line and imagery to visualy represent the changes in the audio.

Stills taken from one of Tal Rosner's animations, Doppelganger:

http://www.talrosner.com/doppelganger

Gerard Saint

Creative Art Director

This is an interview with art director Gerard Saint, which I found on the Big Active blog:

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Lead singer in my band.

What was the first record you bought?

45rpm - Stranglers ‘Peaches’

33rpm - Sex Pistols ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’

What was your first big career break?

When I discovered music though listening to John Peel as a kid.

What has been your career path up til now?

I founded Big Active with design friends after leaving art college and I’ve been running with that ever since. On the journey we’ve art directed and designed everything from album covers to fashion magazines to photography books to brand identities to pretty much every aspect of graphic design really I guess. And along the way we’ve worked hard and played hard and created some work that I’m really proud of. That’s what it’s all about really.

What does your job involve?

A creative director’s job is to oversee the bigger picture - directing the creative output by driving the wider vision of individual projects that we are working on. It also involves commissioning and directing other image makers - photographers and illustrators for instance who may want to collaborate with to bring a project to life. As a studio we are a very close team so I suppose it’s like being the lead singer of the band.

What is your average day?

Artists, bands and record labels come to us to create imagery to package the way their act and music is presented - it’s all about creating individual identities - and as every act is different so too every project is unique - so I guess there’s no such thing as the average day.

What is the best thing about your job?

Having the opportunity to collaborate and work with some of the the best creative people in the world.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Dealing with new artists who might be under the illusion that they’ve just reinvented the wheel.

What are the main qualities needed to be an art director?

Ideas and an open mind, a sense of vision and the ability to keep focused on the bigger picture.

Which artists/projects have been the most fun to work with, and why?

Every project we work on is different, that’s what makes our job so interesting. As a studio we’ve worked with lots of great artists recently including White Lies, The Enemy, Athlete, Keane, Snowpatrol, Subways, Muse, Goldfrapp and Basement Jaxx - so having a really diverse range of clients always keeps things pretty fresh.

What to date is your proudest achievement in work?

We won a D&AD Yellow Pencil for our work on ‘The Information’ by Beck a couple of years ago - which was great as it’s an album package that I’m really proud of. Beck was a brilliant artist to work with and we wanted to create a sleeve that brought the listener closer to the spirit in which the music was recorded encouraging them to really engage in the creative experience. Our idea was to create a DIY album cover for fans to design or customize themselves by using sheets of individual stickers by many different image makers whose work we commissioned and curated for the project. We then simply created a blank cover for fans to fill in. That way the packaging format itself could personalized and as a result no two albums might ever look the same. This was encouraged further by setting up an online forum for fans to upload and share their work. We hoped to create a much wider story by bringing into question the whole idea of making a physical album package at a time when more and more people are simply downloading music digitally. In this case you really had to own the physical album artifact to complete the experience.

What in your view is the future of your industry?

Good integrated music design is about creating the defining image which can work across many different platforms from physical packaging that you can touch and feel to new digital platforms that can interact with in alternative ways. Image will always be a requirement of selling music and now there’s so many more new ways to express that side of the creative process. The music industry model is really changing right now and in the next few years I think we’ll see some really innovative work being done.

How do you think your job will adapt in the future?

It will involve working with many different forms of media and mastering the cultural connections between them. In a way the ubiquitous CD format has long been the enemy of innovative music design - but now record labels are having to adapt to a wider fragmented market where music can be accessed in many different forms and I believe that’s going to be very liberating for designers.

What are your career ambitions?

To continue to create great work.

Top 5 Tips for aspiring music art directors/designers?

1. Obviously be passionate about the culture of music, design and image making.

2. Recognize that the music industry is changing and music design is no longer just about the album cover.

3. Remember every act and project is individual - and difference is what makes people sit up and take notice.

4. Always be ambitious about the bigger picture but ignoring the detail means you’re not really looking.

5. Never pitch ideas for free - be professional - your work has value.

(http://www.bigactive.com)

The reason why I decided to post this interivew, that I found on the Big Active blog, is because there are lots of things which are very insightful and advice that I think that anyone with the ambition to operate within the design world could realte to.

I've been familar with the BIg Actives work now for a little over a year and I think that is not only exciting to hear about the work that the company creates, but the way in which the design callaboration works. To them it seems like a way of life, which I believe is the way it should be; after all to be a success in something you have to live and breath it!

Textures

When I was having a play the other week with after effects I bought a pack of elements to use in after effects. These included high def textures/ low def textures, ink splatter and ink drops.

Some images of the riot gear stock:






There are some great elements within this pack and Im glad I bought it, but it got me thinking why not look at collecting my own textures. Post to come soon!

Ctrl+Alt+Shift

After seeing the illustration done by David Foldvari I decided to have a look at the Accept and Proceed Website. Ctrl.Alt.Shift is a magazine which is described as the following:

"A new quarterly magazine aimed at disaffected british youth. The magazine will act as a platform from which the brand aims to engage young people in world politics and inspire them to take direct action.

Launched by Christian Aid, Ctrl.Alt.Shift is a new quarterly magazine aimed at disaffected british youth. The magazine will act as a platform from which the brand aims to engage young people in world politics and inspire them to take direct action", http://www.acceptandproceed.com

Something which I find interesting is that for each issue a new illustrator is commissioned to create the cover.

The image below shows the cover by Renata Palubinskas Cover Design:

http://www.renatapalubinskas.com/

David Foldvari

One thing that I really like about the way that blogger works, is the way that when people on your blog list update their blogs it lets you know. This is great as it means that you can see when new stuff is added without cheking blogs all of the time. I checked this morning and one of my favourite designers that Im following had added this new piece.


http://davidfoldvari.blogspot.com/

I think that this piece works well. I like the way that Foldvari uses black and white within his piece and then uses aspects of spot colour. The red text at the top of the piece brings life to the design and helps to balance the top of the design. I love the iamge itself and the ideas behind it, using the idea of unmasking by taking a face of. This is a strong image and Im sure is one of the reasons why it has been chosen as the cover for the up and coming issue of the magazine.

Would have been rude not to!

Back to Blogging!

Well, Iv'e been away the last week down south just outside the new forest and whilst on a day out I got the chance to bob into an exhibition. As part of the exhibition there were various origional cars used in some of the James Bond Films. The exhibition was really interesting, but what I found even more interesting was that there was an origional cast script for Thunderball.

It would have been rude not to take a picture and all! So here goes:


(Sorry about the quality, I took it on my phone)