OUGD402 // Brian Eno on John Peel Lecture

A lecture of asking WHY do things exist/happen/co-exist in the ways they do. 

Broadcast on BBC6 Brian Eno's 2015 John Peel lecture is essentially a homage to Peel's curating and how Peel gave Eno his first break. Eno and Roxy Music's style is very experimental, commented to be "Bowies muse" and "U2's 5th Man" through his wacky use of synthesisers and distortion. 

His discreet music marked the creation of ambient music and is now a sought after producer. 

Eno is a self titled "Painter in Sound" and this lecture explores his view on the creative arts.

The end of the Arts is marked if we can quantify what we do down to a single number. 

He disagrees that students not go to into the arts as theres no jobs. The arts is for us, relax to do after their "normal" socio economic jobs. The lucky few get to make a living from art.

He questions if art is luxury?

Eno's perfectly concise definition of "art" is that "Art is everything that you dont have to do", it is not a nessecity for living, not like basic food. We embellish all of these things eg: fancy clothes are unessential. Even something as basic as movement we as humans we elaborate and stylise it into dance- this (no matter how simple) is art.

I later thought about this idea deeper and realised we are all basically looking the same. We all feed from the same consumeristic state by following trends, which all falls under the broad definition of "art".

So why do we naturally embellish everything? Eno says "stylising" and embellishing is "the construction of little worlds". As children create pretend worlds during playtime, as adults we imagine how something might be and create it forming our own little world. Up to this point in the lecture I was intrigued but not gripped. Naturally, this philosophical theory really made me open my eyes and I realised how true this philosophy is.

Why do we like music and how to we get preferences? (None of it has functionality)

We can imagine anything. This separates us from other animals and allows us to play out full scenarios in our mind creating empathy and other emotive human quality. Eno explores that we need to imagine the pain/ hurt in someones head so we can sympathise with it. We can also imagine things and transform them into DESIGN.. Adults play through art, and people DIFFERENT to the CREATOR absorb the art, introducing them to a new little world.

Later on in the talk Eno touches on the topic of identity and why we do certain things. By picking a hairstyle/ outfit we are trying to position ourselves in that world. It seems we are all subconsciously trying to find where we fit in the world and identify with similar people via our appearance. Again, I paused the podcast and realised that this ideology is great because if true, we can change what world we are in daily. If we wanted too we could all play around with free identities whenever the mood hit.

Does art have a serious function? 

We can look at it unobjectively and from a neutral point that are not connected to us or dangerous.

Eno discusses that Art has the role of being a safe place where you can see these little fake worlds and feel real emotion, then simply leave/ switch it off whenever you want to exit.

After touching on some of his own passions for Russian Paintings, he explored the meaning of "seenius". I had never heard of this word before, but it basically means the talent of a whole community around the artist who makes history. The one who goes down in history (in his reference it was Kandinsky) is surrounded by "The ecosystem". This is essentially the entity that makes it famous as just like an ecosystem, the culture and collaborative forces all feed into each other. 

"We celebrate the individuals- not the community they are drawing from". This was one of his points to emphasise his passionate that it is ok not to be "self made" despite popular belief. We take inspiration from everyone and anyone we interact with around us. It seems we as society remould ourselves collectively based on the world around us (ouchism).

Coming to the end of the talk during a Q&A, Eno discusses the idea of critic's within the Art Industry. He made no effort to hide how odd he thinks it is that critics define music by the words. He believes the meaning is in the beat, melody and the circumference of things all around the words- which is a very valid point. A song with the same content can be completely different, eg: ballads vs slow reggae with the same words.

In conclusion, the "creative industries" are an unquantifiable notion. Art is everything extra, providing us with luxury and giving our lives "added value". A very philosophical message transcended which should made us all question everything we do- and why.

OUGD402 // 10 things that inspire me

Jewellery //

The fluidity of Silver formed into shapes to be worn on the body. Despite being a big jewellery fan I am not that keen on yellow gold. I have always felt that it is the easiest metal to make look tacky, possibly due to all of the connotations from the old fashioned style and the 00's buying fake gold chains and giving yellow gold a bad name for itself. I am a massive fan of Silver, especially hand crafted rings and statement pieces. Tiffany's latest collecting in collaboration with Elsa Pretti where the surface of the silver is so smooth it looks to be wearing silk. Jewellery to me is special because it is a personification of your personality, each precious stone or metal just traps a story in a design.

Lomography/ SLR Style Photography //

Crisp photography captured in a granulated and imperfect way. Using cameras such Action Sampler's to show fluidity and movement with naturally enhanced colour.Geometry //

A style i really admire but my mind isn't structured enough to execute it properly. I set of to create a geometric style but it just ends up a linear style accidentally presented in a chaotic manor. The use of lines and crisp minimalism in a Scandinavian way has always been an interest, and something I will work towards executing effectively in the future.

Advertising //

 Early 20th century Film Posters and early edition Vogue Covers are some of the reasons I decided to pursue Graphic Design in the first place. The Amnesty International "Its not happening here, but its happening now" campaign shows intelligent advertising that really gets the viewer thinking about the world around us, as well as being presented in a creativly stimulating way and not just in the printed form. Alongside this Acne Studios' unconventional use of corporate advertising makes them stand out for me, not even just because of their collections but the presentation of their designs and subsequent advertisements in Vogue and Harpers Bazar. 

Grotesqueness //

 The art of making something beautiful look ugly. Everything looks ugly really close up. This was first triggered by the Dexter titles where food and coffee is zoomed in prevoking a strong emotive quality that differs in everyone. McQueen tapped into this for his Savague Beauty collection where he tried to explore ugliness as beauty. 

Travel //

 This goes without saying. Different places make you learn different cultural traits and you see things differently along the way. Different food/ different styles/ different people/ different languages etc.  want to live all over the world someday. How can you change the world without knowing it?

Catwalk Set Design //

Chanel never fail to put on a mesmorising show, with Chanel Airlines being the highlight of the Paris Fashion Week 15 coverage for me. The innivotive use of creating an airport terminal set design showcases what possibilities can be created within a 'catwalk'. In in the past they have created large scale crystals and created futuristic scenes, all to showcase the themes of the collections. Dior for PFW 15 even covered the side of La Louvre in flowers to mark the start of the S/S 16 collection launch. Its the sheer scale of possibilities you can create with catwalks, its truley one huge show.

Editorials //

 Editorial design always been my biggest interest within Graphic Design, as the structure and layout can connote a theme better than the given text can. The use of color and negative space in a creative way suggests an infinate range of routes to go down, making no two publications the same- which instills identity. Vogue's early editions (1950's) and some Vogue Italià issues truley capture this escence of possibilities, alongside independent magazines such as Vueling Airlines -------, and spacific industry publications such as Creative Review and IDN (International Designers Networks).

Illustration //

Especially fashion illustration, loose hand rendered styles with sketchy lines are my favorite. The art of illustration both digital and by hand can capture so many moods with only a few lines. Its the simplicity and ease that inspires me the most.

Music //

Courtney Barnett/ Elvis/ Led Zep/ Billie Holiday/ Louis Armstrong all providing different narratives for personally different experiences. The melodies, guitar riffs or even just the clever lyrics send the mind racing with possible visual representations of what you're listening too. 

A small lyrical mural I created last year inspired by Courtney Barnett's - 'Avant Gardner'

Film //

Some like it hot/ Midnight in Paris/ Gentlemen prefer blondes/ breakfast at Tiffanys/ Pulp fiction/ Donnie Darco / Clueless. These are a few titles which have either prompted previous briefs or simply films I admire for their art direction, emotive qualities or clever story twists. 

The Streets of Barcelona

The Sagrada Famillia, a truley inspiring piece of modernist architecture by Antoni Gaudi that is still unfinished. It reminds me of a Disney castle thats been plucked out of the ocean and covered in cockles and distorted brickwork. The old is really apparent compared to the new, as you can see the darkening and the ware and tare caused from the ageing to the left. Its so cool because in 10 years it will look even more gothic and eerie with different levels of erosion throughout.

Found a few streets off La Ramblas this little scene really caught my eye. The colour contrast between the new age graphiti and the antique indian tapestry showcases the escence of inner city life, showcasing the unintended and creative atmosphere. 

'City of Letters', an article in Spanish magazine 'Barcelovers Issue 5' showcases some of the typography found on the streets of the city. I love the way the letter forms interact with eachother in this title, and work well with the 3/4 editorial spread. This magazine was found free on the street of the city.

Park Güell another home of Gaudi hosts the 'Gaudi House' and the famous mosaic ring. The mood of the mosaics change throughout the park with colour and negative space being the biggest aspects of interest. The houses look like gingerbread houses, showcasing Gaudi's architectural style being not only practical, but lively/ energetic and playful. The mosaic style has a high vividy colour contrast and works in a child like manor, aswell as being elegant and beautiful. 

Whilst exploring the Gothic Quater I found some really cool gift shops, containing all types of print and Typography. These candles especially caught my eye and made me think about the tangible uses of typography. I love how the '& symbol' has been cast into a 3D shape out of wax, and even when it inevitably melts down it will still be recognisable as a known symbol. 

Another street view in the Gothic Quater with romantic artwork painted on the walls. This caught my eye by the artwork being in white as appose to the traditional colour, being highlighted against the warmer brick tones. It reminds me of a grecian ceiling or a Cameo broach. This photo (despite being iPhone quality) also highlights the white, with the dark street enhancing the contrast and giving an eerie subtone to the bottom half of the image, compared to the airy and bright top half. 

OUGD402 // A few more Graphic Design Studios

"Hey Studios" based in Barcelona and established in 2007 is a small design studio focusing on geometric, digitally rendered outcomes. Colour and vector graphics are a common theme accross their work, alongside a whole series in Typographic design. Their client range is vast working with companies such as Coca Cola and 3 Mobiles, showcasing their success in only a few years. They class themselves as an "attitude", making them stand out in their market.

In addition 'Sagmeister and Walsh', probably one of the better known design companies based in NYC also take on a small personnel approach- with only 4 members of the team. Despite their small breadth, each individual has a specialty allowing collaboration to flow in the most effective and professional way. Each individual works as a creative director alongside foundef Stephen Sagmeister, which I feel is a huge factor for their success. S&W focus on web/ signage/ editorial and enviromental work, with clients ranging from the Rolling Stones to Crown Plaza and Levis Jeans.

 A 60's Pop Art theme is apparent throughout due to the individual colour uses in each brief, possibly due to Mr Sagmisters work on the music scene in the 60's posing as an influence.

Another small but effective design studio is "Hey Day" based in Oslo. The 6 person team work one on one with clients, to create "digital solutions" for everyday challenges. Alongside the 6, they have a "network of talent", composed of photographers, illustrators and well- any other creative sector you can think of. Their design style is minimalist and quite Scandinavian, possibly to convey their mission of "[challenging] the established truth". The 'USP' of this company does differ from the other 'all in one' companies, where they experiment and print on wood. They created a series of wooden business cards which truley blew my mind. I have never printed on or worked with such a hard media but would defiantly not rule it out in the future after seeing their work.

Another experimental design house is "Lust" based in the Netherlands. Their work is very experimental, creating architectural graphics and instillations with a very post-modernist vibe throughout. Lust say they want to "run the boundaries" which certainly comes accross in their quirky use of colour, hand processes and media. They take individualism so seriously they even have a "LustLab", dedicated to finding what is pushing the boundaries at each time.  

In contrast Dutch 'Studio Dumbar', established in 1977 and recognised as the 3rd most awarded studio naturally take a different approach. They also look at branding, both tangible and online, whilst having a huge ethical stance towards charity work. Roughly 1/3 of all Dumbar's work is given away free to the Dutch government for trains and publications, highlighting their ethos for "passion not profit"- an admitable trait for such a successful company. Becoming international recognised with awards and coverage is naturally a desire for design companies, one being "Build Design Studios". Origionally founded in London but now based in Yorkshire, Build have been published in over 100 books world wide and are highly ranked throughout the world. Some clients include Nike and Microsoft, utilizing them for their unique style and abilty to do everything. After looking theough their portpholio it is apparent they stick to 2/3 coordinating colours per piece, alongside a San-Serif typeface running throughout the heart of the company. Their flat work style isnreminicent of screen printing, possibly referincing a Warhol infuence to them as practitioners. The creative logic is epitomised in my favorite quote from Michael .C. Place (C.D); "I dont really understand people who are trying to be cool" says everything about them. They do not care if they do not fit conventions, they write their own rules and do it with passion and authority- a hugely inspiring quailty.

Following the Yorkshire theme, 'Elmwood Studios' based on Leeds' Walk Lane and established in 1997 have won more awards flr effectiveness than anyone else. They are renowed in league tables so can essentially do what they want with guarenteed creative merit. This may have prompted them to launch their own tea and beer brand, whilst launching their studio's globally. Brisbane, NYC and London all host a Elmwood, a place where 'house styles' do not exist, just clever thought prevoking design soloutions. Elmwood are also very big on sustainability whilst being market sensitive to stay ahead of the game. 

On the other hand, 'Bleed' based in Olson & Vienna show influenced links theoughout their work. Architecture and Cubism seem to inspire many design qualities- especially the "Monier" company brief set in Oslo. Their use of  clever ad work over social media is insane... They created an advertisement on twitter that changed colour dependant on how many viewers saw it, such an innivotive concept. Their work is both 2D and 3D acting as a multidisciplinary design company. Their employees are from all accross the world, evident as Bleed try and represent all different cultures in their branding, thus try and get their persona accross in all their work.

Another modernist studio is "Face", established in 2006 in a small Mexican city. The small studio of 10 goes off the belief "simplicity works", a quote I completely agree with. They try and portray honest branding with emphasis on customer relationships, so much so they give them a questionaire to fill in titled "your homework". Moving accross the world, 'Dessein' established in 1987 in Perth, Australia are also driven by "effective, clean, colourful [and] fresh" graphic design. It seems they monopolised their local rural market for branding and identity, thus casting a wider net and naturally growing in size. Today they are still only small, but have employees from all accross the globe whilst being classed as one of the "50 greatest design studios in the world". Now, last but not least an old favorite- 'Wolf Olins' established in 1969 embody the idea that a good series of branding lasts forever. Now based in London, Sa Fransisco and NYC they are controversial and driven by possitive social complexity. Their diverse style is compelled by deep and meaningful change projected through good design. Wolf Olins have been noted to say "learn more and give back", which seems is a necessary quality to become successful within the creative arts. Their large reputation has taken them to work with clients such as EE, Skype, the Cancer Trust and even lead them to design the London 2012 Olympics. Throughout this long list of influencial design houses along the world, so many similarities have come to head. A heavy presence on social media to create a global viewing stage for your work, internationalisation but remaining in small teams and personal projects all being a key for success. In conclusion, stay small, stay successful and have a USP. 

Exhibition at Northern Monk Brewery

So as a start to my degree in Graphic Design, some friends and I decided to have an explore of some of the up and coming talent in Leeds. We visited an exhibition at the Northern Monk Brewery put on by City College. I fell in love with this piece, by Art Enterprise student Joanna (surname unknown). Their work had to be presented on a huge piece of polythene sheeting, and one of my friends on the course found this the hardest aspect. The contrast between the negative space creating typography and the vivid acrylic paint splatters hypnotizes me. Its unclear in the image (iphone quality), but you could actually see other students work shimmering through the plastic. The way the stencil effect isn't perfect is my favorite aspect to this piece as the textural quality really projects the message cast.

OUGD402 // Study Task 01

Ah-Ah Studio, based in Lisbon yet working on a global scale was founded by friends Carolina Cantante and Catrina Carreiras in 2011. After being introduced to the design company and admiring their work, I have chosen a few favourites to look at in more detail based on their inspiring use of texture, colour and simplicity.

Illustration as a whole seems to be my comfort zone, however I feel I always over-complicate my own designs. The minimalist line drawing of the figures cut off at the kneck is a great way to keep the work concise. Also the negative space in the bottom third naturally brings the viewers eye up into the detail without looking too final. Furthermore, the black and white style photographed on a gray surface seems quintessential of 'Ah-Ah', incorporating shadows and a clear contrast of background colour and work throughout their website. 

With regards to colour I am naturally a very saturated artist, shying away from the use of hot pinks if not purposeful. In the below images both texture and vivid colour are used to grab the audiences attention and truley highlight the design merit. In the bottom image a textile quality is captured via the use of textured typography- yet still remaining simple and not overcomplicated. Truley mesmerised. 

Images from www.studioahah.com