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.