Unit 51 - Page Layout - Paul Parsons

Today we used PhotoShop to edit a picture using different tools to change the colour and quality of the image. We displayed it in an Andy Worhol style as it aloud us to display the use of different tools and techniques.

For this image, i selected the section of the photo that i wanted to edit, and then changed the colour to one that i prefferred.

Kate Moross

Kate Moross started out doing free-lance artwork at the age of 19 and whilst at University, she was approached by Cadbury’s to do her first major piece of work, but she had to get her work out there before hand to be able to get noticed by Cadbury’s. She completed her BA degree at Camberwell school of art. She also was involved in doing some work for the 2012 Olympics, and was also a torchbearer in the relay running up to the games.

Use of colour

Within the artwork there are a lot of contrasting colours, with both bright and dark colours, mainly deep purples and blues. This allows the different parts of the artwork to standout and creates a good feel to the poster, and making it very easy on the eye. The bold colours in the corners of the image are very powerful within the piece and create different tones within the same image.

Use of text

The font is very similar to that of bubble writing, creates and urban look on the poster, this is helped by the use of bright bold colours, which makes the text on the page ‘pop’ out at you. It also reflects the theme of the work as it uses a lot of quotes and single words, because it is an urban piece.

Use of imagery

The image within the piece, the hand, is a realistic shape, but with abstract elements within. The lines within the hand are used to exaggerate those on realistic hand, but are used in such a way that it fits in with the abstract theme of the image. I believe that there should not be more images within the page as it would overpower her text on the page and at the moment I think that there is a balance between the text and the images. There are no photographic images within the page as it is mainly abstract, despite the hand appearing very life like; it could be manipulated to fit the theme of the image.

Hierarchy of information

The first thing I read is at the top of the piece, due to the text being in the largest size on the piece. You also see this text first as it is right above the image of the hand, this stands out due to its contrasting colour on the page, and its abstract shape. I then move down the page as the style of the work and font decreases in size, however, when at the bottom of the page, you immediately go straight to the right hand side as this is where the size of the font increases suddenly. I believe that the image should have the main text in the middle with everything else coming out from around, because then you focus more of your attention on the middle of the piece and not just on one top third of the image.

Tools and techniques used

I believe that she used pens and pencils to draw many of the large designs, as this way is it easier to design them and you will be able to manipulate them easier within a computer program, rather than include a lot of detail when you draw it straight away.

Most successful and my improvements

The most successful part of the image is the use of the bold colours, this makes any shape in the image standout, and the different shades of colour outline the different shapes. What would make the design more successful would be the use of brighter colours within the image and this would create many more contrasts.

"I'm not a business man. I'm a business. Man." - Kate Moross quoting Jay-Z.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQFo5tB8Jys

This is a piece of work i did in the style of Kate Moross and based on my 10 year plan. I got the original drawing scanned into the computer, and used photoshop to sharpen the edges of the design, i then put it in illustrator, to put colour in the image and make it in the style of Kate Moross.

Assignment

We have been assigned the task of creating a bookmark with the design on the front based upon our given book and have been told to include a 200 word synopsis on the back. My chosen book was 'I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson. 

Research into influential artists

Ross Crawford

 Ross Crawford uses a variety of styles in his illustrations,but the ones that appeal to me are the brain and the 'Truth is hard to swallow'. There is a common theme amongst all of these pieces, and this is contrast and bold colours. This is essential for my bookmark as it will need to stand out and make sure the reader of the book recognises clearly what the book is about.

The Typography in the middle design could be useful with my book as i could include various silhouettes of the different characters from the book. The techniques used to make these pieces are most likely that of digital programming and scanning of original drawings. The artist could have possibly drew the images by hand on a blank sheet of paper then scanned and edited the colours and typography on various computer programs.

Olly Moss

For this task we had to do research into an alternative poster creator called Olly Moss. He took original designs of film posters and created alternative ones that were in my opinion a lot more interesting and effective.
I like this work because it is very clever in the way it uses certain aspects of the tv show or films and using them as the main focal points of the designs. I also love the colours he uses, they are so contrasting and bold that is easy to see what the design is about. The contrasting colours provide it with a simple look but makes it easy to see the design of the poster.

This is my own Olly Moss style work that is for The Hunger Games, and uses the simplistic style of Olly Mosses artwork with colour schemes as well.

Today i had a discussion with Paul as to where i am in the design process of my bookmark, and we both agreed that my original design was a bit bleak not very bold or outstanding, so i decided to experiment with different designs on scrap piece of paper and came up with a couple designs, but the one on the right being the one i finally came up with. This was a lot better as it used up more space in the design yet still included the typography of the design before.

Evaluation

I set out at the start of this project to create a bookmark influenced by a book that we had been given to read in three weeks. The book I was given was ‘I am Legend’ and this was a very interesting genre that gave plenty of ideas when coming to do my initial ideas for my bookmark.

These designs were influenced by some certain artwork that included a lot of typography. This typography, in most cases, helped the actual artwork have a meaning and used various fonts and colours to great effect. The artwork I looked at, which is above my book mark designs, used certain words about a topic that best summarised and emphasised the main areas of the subject matter. 

For my initial design, I simply included the word ‘isolation’ in wavy typography, along the arm, with the hand holding a wooden stake. I did this because I thought it clearly demonstrated the main characters lone fight against the civilisation he lived in, and I tried to get the effect on the letters so that it appeared as if the letters were singed into the characters fore arm. The way I did this was by separating the text and using the swatch tool to select the different colours I saw suitable for the design.

However, after talking to Paul and George, my design changed to include more intricate typography and more content within the design, I thought his was very successful as the design looked a lot more appealing than it did in the initial design process. As well as this, I got shown how to create an effect on the skin and make it look old and rotten, this again as successful as it showed how the character is wasting away in his final days.

I thought my outcome worked extremely well as a bookmark and the synopsis on the back clearly shows the basis of the story. This bookmark is very appealing and will draw the readers’ eye towards it, meaning that it is clear to know which page they are in the book.

However, if I were to do this again, I would spend more time on the initial design process, as It was kind of rushed and I only seemed to stick to one design instead of taking features from all of them and incorporating them within my final finished product, being the bookmark.

• In printing terms what is a bleed?
its where the ink goes beyond the edge of the sheet before trimming

• When sending your illustrator artwork to the printers you should embed or outline fonts for what reason?
the printer might not have the font

• When sending a file to the printers what should your colour setting be? Why?
CMYK, those colours make up most of the colours on the spectrum

• What does CMYK stand for? What does RGB stand for?
Cyan Magenta Yellow Key (Black)

Red Green Blue

• What is a serif font? Show examples.
A serif font is a font with a swirly bit at the end

• What is a San serif font? Show examples.
A san serif font is a font that has no swirly parts and the same width with all the lettering

• Helvetica is the most widely used sans-serif typeface in the world it was developed in 1957 by..
Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger



• The following format JPEG stand for ? What context would you use them?
Joint Photographic Experts Group, used to compress digital photographs

• What does PDF stand for? What context would you use them?
Portable Document Format, used to transfer documents to any format without worrying about the software used or what s needed to open the document

• What does GIF stand for? What context would you use them?
a Graphics Interchange Format is used on the internet to create rolling images leading creation of animations

.• What does EPS stand for? What context would you use them?
An EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) is an extremely high quality file format and is not used for regular print

• In print terms what is dpi? What is the minimum resolution to scan artwork for print?
Dots Per Inch - 300 dpi

• If producing a vector based logo for a client which Adobe program would you use and why? Write about some of the tools you have used so far?
Illustrator allows you to use resize any image and still have the same quality for any size that the image is in 

• If you're improving the quality of an old, faded and damaged photograph. Which Adobe program would you use and why? Write about some of the tools you have used so far?
PhotoShop, you could use the magic wand tool to select a specific part of an image then use the colour pallets to change the effect or colour of that particular bit.

• If you are producing an 8 page magazine for an assignment which program would you use and why? Write about some of the tools you have used so far?

 Indesign, allows you to have multiple pages with loads of text and for it to still run smoothly, in contrast to illustrator which will slow down the more content is on the varying pages