distortion

i wanted to just put up a bit more from todays leake street 

it falls under distortion i reckon

always good to see soemthing new

and these are done by people completely off their own back, in the cold for no profit whatsoever. dedication and in a way as pure an art or graphic form as it gets.but i argue for and against that in a way

funny to think these compositions are letters. 

also, jsut to follow up. as you can see form the few brief examples of actual work, i did screw up a lot! but  i think this is good!the more you screw up the more your learning!

i kept getting odd letters back to front n somehow a random bold 'O' got thrown into the mix, i guess its hard to recognise these things until you print it.

also worth a note: my choice of typeface.

as you see ive used gill sans. using a mix of sizes and italic. i chose this font becuase im basing my supermarket on an already existing one: waitrose.

-the reason i decided this was because i didnt want to spend time looking at making a corporate id for a new company. and i really dont like that area of design i must admit.

and the font used for the new waitrose logo [the green] was 'inspired by gill and futura'

which basicly boils down to it being gill sans with a couple cheeky slanty bits here n there to reflect the logo of the green slanty things. simple clean effective really. 

-which brings me to something else i want to waffle about/share: have deliberatelu been researching a little more into typography, and ultimately graphic design; theres a really good little leaflet on blackboard about it as well, and listening to the guys in the spin lecture...

graphic design is actually really simple in a way. [in a way!!] i always thought there was some majic formula to good design and how its been done and why the **** they did it. its simple:it reflects something relevant. 

if you look at the above example about the waitrose font; they did that because it reflects [aka communicates] something relevant about the subject/client etc.

am delighted i found that out. i could be wrong. and i might throw that one at susanna/darren n get their take on it.

on another note: the reason why i did the letterpress also to put into use some of orlaghs researching techniques and how they dont have to be the default library/internet. in doing so doing things deliberately wrong, doing it right doing it differently moving it scratching it doing allsorts to it and se what comes from that.

-when i heard darren say they want to see them kind of workshops used in our projects i though ah fuck thats me failed but if u jus chill it came almost naturally and i thought about that as i worked. not that it shows.

another project update....

Firstly-i dont like the way i have little say in the layout of my posts. i know i can highlight an image n sort of half move it around but its bollocks and just not easy n the only way to get something half acceptable invovles far too much fannying about and  fist shaking at the sky.

anyway

-Letterpress day!!spent the day down letterpress. well afternoon technically. that Alex is really helpful, i felt like a bit of a tit asking him really simple questions like the name for the thing which you do the typesetting in [a stick] and if something reads the right way. i only recently done the induction with david so felt a bit silly about that. 

but half of the purpose of today was to familiarise myself with whats going on down there and doing it on my own or 'open access'

-what the fuck am i going to do when i finish the FDA?-this letterpress process is just bloody great i really really want to throw mself into it and do loads of it, and i know even for personal projects id want to continue using something like this for years to come-does such a place still exist outside of our college?i hope so

the sad bastard in me wishes things like this where open saturdays.and screenprinting.and the darkroom. its great how much we have access too, i never know where to start or what to do.

-anyway project update. the point of today was i wanted to test making these 'vouchers' using a hand made, and quite classic process. and something which harks back to the recently retired peoples era and will appeal to that audience.[as recommended i look at in my tutorials]

I have established a 'sub brand' which as i commented on previously was a really good starting point for me and has already bourne some tasty visual fruit. so iwanted to test how this would look, and hopefully achieve an almost organic quality to my text not achievable in indesign [as great as it is]

if im honest i also wanted to just get my hands dirty and have a good old play with text. its almost as if i could put my hands into my laptop and move the letters n that around that way. i find myself being drawn to these old processes for that reason i think. the fact i can see it and hold it i can udnerstand it far better. i still know a thing or two with illustrator/indesign n that but its been hard won. 

anyway id say its been successful to a degree. its definately given me two paths of outcomes to work on, or at least a damn solid sketchbook of expriments. with a bit more hard work ill hopefully have at least a decent portion completed in time.

im thinking now instead of 4 'vouchers', doing just 3, or even just one really well done outcome.

ill see

i also tried uploading the stuff i did on indesign n blogger doesnt like pdf's

blog post *51-now with added interest

LOOK AT THIS! can you guess where this is??

-not where youd think it is, is in davies street!??just the last place id expect to find something bloody amazing smothered around part of the interior

its amazing!look at it!its still being painted theres just one little corner still being filled in, the guy doing it looked pretty busy and deeply focused so i didnt want to disturb him by asking what course hes doing/does for a living etc etc

i remember seeing the beginnings of this a couple weeks ago when the ceiling was plastered with strange photography and huge collages bizarrely enough.

i completely love it, the way it goes out of the wall, onto the floor, the patterns and even the simplicity: black and white and [mostly] hand drawn-but how hes used those simple things to amazing effect. 

if you look at some of the more wider view shots i got you can see its a bit trippy. almost like walking into a living 2000AD comic or the guys imagination.

brilliant.more of that

SOMETHING SIMILAR...

if you like this check out 'secret wars'..this squad of illustrators who fill an entire space/gallery room with incredibly just cool art using only black and white and more often than not a box of marker pens. iw as lucky enought o see them putting a show together in south ken near where i used to work.these guys work hard and thyre stuff is bloody good. check it out

found

yeah!love stuff like this.

its as if using graphic design to mildly take the piss

or at least have a bit of fun

-and it works!and looks good!

elephant+castle elephant parade [?]

still havent tired of the shopping centre just yet and look what i found! a couple shops up from greggs you can see this. not too sure what its all in aid of but looks fun n really creative. i liked it! well is better than some random shit rug shop or whatever was there before.ola is shit.

i took these shots on friday so be interesting to see how theyve developed over the wekend and then the final product. 

also made a point of giving a thumbs up to the people working in there show a bit of support n that

Project update

i dont think ive even mentioned my project on here yet.

fate gave me a supermarket chain-help others-recently retired professionals.

quite happy with that brief and through some of the workshops and talking with some other students gave birth to a really exciting idea.

up until today ive felt as if my hands have been tied. I have this idea i really like but i cant think how to communicate it. i dont know what images, where to get them or even to use images and it freaked me the F out.

i think that if i say to myself 'communicate this' my mind goes completely blank, and if eel like a sham. like what am i doing here i cant do this. but i found a starting point and definately starting coming together.i woke up this morning with more ideas and dozens of variations on them.we all need to remember were fda students!weve been let on to something hundreds of others applied for. we must have something.and ok my first project might be shite, but thats half the point in a way.im here to make mistakes and learn why i made them n all that.

so my project has had a really sluggish start. and i had a blurry idea of how the outcome will look. and talking with jo and susanna over the week has really chilled me out and focused me.

so i want to do a series of 'vouchers' promoting activity days aimed at the recently retired. and its been suggested to me to start with looking at type/adverts of their era. and jo suggested i start with making a kind of sub brand to start with and the rest will come together. i was going to make abrand last once i seen all the images i made. but i went with it anyway n well she was right!giving myself that start has enabled me to envisage whats next for the final much clearer now.

i dont want to put any images up as theres a dozen or so i havent decided on. but more when i have it

cheeky bit letterpress tomorrow see what comes out fo that.

www.ffffound.com

hows the project?feeling a litl stuck/drained?

check this out!

been meaning to add this here, i added it to my bookmarks a while ago. this came to my attention from one of darrens mass emails. ther was some other mad stuff, was all about blogs [cant be arsed to drag the article up.blackboard it if you really care]

i like having a little scan from time to time, and nearly everytime get a small spark of an idea for a project i unfortuneately know ill never get round to doing.

Ed and Nancy Kienholz instillation/photography portrait awards-National portrait gallery visit

as you can see photographs 'are prohibited' at this gallery and is a bit student un-freindly.

but again its free which is brilliant to have access to centuries worth of proper classic Fine Art each painting taking up years of an artists life to create.

shame a lot of its quite boring.

-but this was interesting!-and certainly something different

this artist couple sought to recreate a 70's style amsterdam red light district inside the national portrait gallery- in the main building.

its quite interesting, but a bit brief n a bit sad as well i found. it was dealing with the themes of prostitution and how it is persecuted to the suffering of the prostitutes.also how the prostitutes are people, characters have faces to them and drawing attention to this by surrounding their faces in old cookie tin boxes. interesting the choice of box, as cookies are a food, a sweet consumable.

Id recommend a visit to the gallery as a whole, id jib off all the fine art, or at least leave it to the end. im sorry but it makes me yawn and i cant be arsed with it. especially when there is so much mor enew and interesting things to be seen that arent going to be there all that long.

-but pop outside and you see that set of delicious randomness!!:its a bit mad n i surprisingly quite liked this.  from what i gathered it was a set of dead old trees, their roots intact shipped over from south africa.

really mad massive trees. its fascinating how plants vary massively.

Photographic portrait awards:

 round the back of the gallery is all this. and most of its free. its really interesting looking at different people and how the picture is set to describe the person. theres a mad one where the persons features glow and change colour

worth a cheeky visit.

krop.com/portfolio review tips i picked up

this was a massive pain in the arse [but hopefully worth it!] ....

http://www.krop.com/rider/

this took me HOURS! not because its hard to use but i had to go about picking and editing images i wanted to use for this. I guess this was something of a learning curve for me. its the first time i have ever approached something like this and you could say the 1st time ive been putting PDF's to good use.

was still a bit of an arse tho. but if you have 10 images you definately love and would put in your portfolio

what this is: "krop.com" is a free website that anyone can use [FOR FREE!] it is actually straightforward and you can have something ready literally in minuites! and will look really slick and neat, and so simple for viewers to navigate and check your stuff out.

One bad thing about this is it asks you for your chosen field [eg graphic design or something] and then titles you as that profession under your name

so mine says

benjamin rider-graphic designer.

-now thats not a massive issue i know, but i dont see myself as a proper graphic designer and i dont want you/anyone reading this thinking so. just feels as if its me being pompous.

and fuck that.

-so why did i spend the majority of last night until 4.30 am fannying about with this? Basicly because im applying for work and was recommended this as the way forwards.

-i attended creative careers' portfolio review evening last thursday night. EVERYONE SHOULD DO THIS-and its free! check out 'consurgo' is the company that sets up the event run by this guy richie who apparently used to lecture on our course.

-what happens is a squad of designers/illustrators/recruiters will go over your portfolio and basicly just give you loads of great tips, advice, things to work on etc etc

-i found this an excellent service.so much so ive actually volunteered to go and give feedback about it [well to be honest you get a tenner for 15 mins out of your day to do that hence why i 'volunteered'....

My Session/What i learnt:..

i sat on a table with a freindly chap called pratik who works as a recruiter and sees hundreds of CVs/portfolios on a daily basis so i feel lucky to have his time.also on the table where 6 other students from other UAL colleges doing other various graphic related courses at different levels-which on its own was Very insightful indeed.-what was interesting was meeting a girl who did the ABC diploma 3 years previously and comparing the same projects we did.

Pratiks top tips in a nutshell: [I also attended the SPIN DESIGN lecture and asked them how to get a job-which got a few laughs even tho people where asking them such wank like do they keep green issues in mind when printing and such crap,but this is relevant i felt -so what they said im putting here also] [me writing that little aside was my way of bigging myself up saying i went to the spin design lecture like a right ponce][altho did see plenty other fda types so shout out to them n all]

-PDF and online portfolios are the future+way forward. -employers love em [krop.com]

-with your solid physical portfolio/mind window have no more than 12 images

-10 is best

-MAKE IT THE BEST OF THE BEST of your work

-slip in a piece of card inbetween sleeves making it solid when you turn each page, this carries weight and value to your work.

-your portfolio should reflect what you love, what YOU do [style, discipline etc]

-its no point applying for a typography job if your an illustrator.bear that in mind

-Never apologize for your work/decisions

-good ideas and strong typography go down a treat

- and attire-dont dress up in a full on suit, you'll look a right bell end. smart casual is best. and theres no harm in asking before your interview what the attire is.

These are the things ive been told. Ive yet to road test them but ill certainly blather on about it when i do.

and thats about it if anyone has got to bottom of this rediculous ramble i will actually buy you a 28p can of pepsi from the 98p land in the center] theres plenty more i want to express about what i learnt/felt from the spin design lecture, the portfolio review, the services i discovered that are open to us and free not just at creative careers but in all davies street, and the job application process

-infact i will mention one thing: all the tutors have been very supportiv and helpful with my application, turns out we have a tutor who specializes in covering letters n all that: 'catherine smith' hunt her out she was very helpful indeed. 

infact there is something else i really want to get off my chest here but this is just rediculous now so look above to see if i added another post without any images and generally looks completely boring and inaccessable in which case no one will read, and if thats the case jonathan grey wilson has a git for a face

Shunt

Shunts last night last night-some weird stuff to be found as standard.

all my pictures are shite and its difficult to communicate whats to be found there. but always some very interesting art instillations, paintings, even theatre

always good to absorb something new and different

i think its such a shame its closed now it was such a mad melting pot of creative practices, really opened my mind. was fascinating funny weird all at the same time.

i could write for hours about what i love about it but i waffle on enough and would probably just sound like a bit of a dick

check out this fantastic artist/designer i found recently!

Brilliant! bloody love this!!

look at it! 

why i fuckin love this!: this guy just look at how well drawn and stylised his characters are, look at the composition if you break it down into its background shapes its really well done. the use of colour and the half tone shading 

i know some of the content is a bit porno but look past it its really something special

and these are screenprinted!!!!!!!! love to get something near as good