Block of Type

Who is this "Seapo"??? His tag is nearly everywhere in this block. I took these photos right outside my apartment. There is graffiti, mural art, trash and litter, and miscellaneous signs, all with interesting type. Take a gander and see all the various types and let me know if you can figure out who "Seapo" is!

Self Portrait & Timeline

I wanted to all portray all the different versions of me throughout a typical day (or night!) of design, and I thought that merging multiple photographs of myself would be an interesting way, both visually and conceptually, to do it.

To accomplish this, I set up a tripod and set a timer on my camera for 10 seconds. During those 10 seconds I had to quickly get in my pose and stay still. I did this multiple times with various props and wardrobe changes. Afterwards, I imported all the images into Photoshop and using layer masks, combined them all together.

I thought about the final composition I wanted, and this was my solution and approach. There may be other ways to do this, but based on my knowledge and abilities, I felt this was the most effective way for me.

The timeline was done using the same technique. There was a lot of planning and a lot of -behind-the-scenes concepts, ideas, and reasoning behind all the poses, layout, clothing, and arrangement that I won't get into detail, but nevertheless, I'm glad I was able to illustrate all of those ideas successfully. At first glance, the piece is visually interesting, and upon closer inspection, there are more and more things to be discovered. I wanted a deep sense of layering for this piece, but at the same time, wanted it to be visually engaging for the uninitiated.

MLK Day Poster 2016

I wanted to try something I haven't done before for this year's MLK Day poster: Photography+Painting.

Atlanta is a prominent city in regards to Martin Luther King Jr. He was born and raised there and it was an important place for him. It is designated as the MLK Jr. Historic Site. So during the night, I went to the top deck of the parking garage of my apartment, set up my tripod, and took photos of the Atlanta sky line. It was cold, but the shots were worth it.

In Photoshop, I first sketched a portrait of MLK, and this was also the first time I did an inverse, or negative (for lack of knowing the proper term) where I started on a black canvas and using a white brush, sketched and then filled in highlights. I've always drawn/painted on a white canvas where one would traditionally add shadows, so this was new experience for me.

The poster went through many stages of color and layout, until I finally settled on what is now posted. There was a lot of experimentation and trying of new techniques, and I am pleased with the results.

Things I Collect: Headphones

One of the things I collect is headphones/earphones. It's interesting because I didn't mean to start a collection. However, over the years, one by one, into a collection it did grow, until one day I looked over and thought to myself, "hmm.. I do have quite a few."

Because I have three ear buds, I keep a pair in my school messenger bag with my laptop, another pair in my camera bag, and one pair by my bed.

I have four sets of headphones and each one is different in both sound reproduction and visual aesthetic. Three of them are what is called "closed", where the ear pads form a tight seal so sound doesn't leak out. One of those three is bass-heavy for listening to electronic music and genres with deep, thumping beats, another is Bluetooth-enabled so I can move about without the tangle of wires, and the third is neutral in sound.

My favorite, and go-to headphones, is what's called an "open" headphone where the ear pads are vented so sound leaks terribly, so even at low volumes people around me can hear what I'm listening to. Not library-friendly. I'd use my closed neutral headphones if I were listening around people. So why do I prefer my open headphones? Because instead of the music sounding like its coming from in your head, it sounds like it's coming from around you, as if you're listening to a concert. It's best for genres such as acoustic or anything meant to be listened to live. 

The other headphones do a better job in other genres, but my open pair is just too comfortable for me to switch! So I just use it for everything. :)

Difference between "Closed" and "Open" headphones

Closed - best if you want to get "lost" in your music because it seals your music in and seals the outside ambient noises out. Great for public places where noise-isolation allows you to hear your music and the tight seal keeps it from leaking out for all the world to hear. But music has a "space" in your head and the sound stage is smaller.

Open - ambient noises leak in and sound from the headphones also leaks out. So not good at all in public where people can not only hear your music but also drown your music out with their ambient noise. But great in private where you can isolate yourself from the world. Creates an open sound stage and makes you feel like the band is in front of you.

Influences

So the question is, "Who inspires you?" "What inspires you?"

There are definitely designers who inspire me, but I am not the type to memorize names and works. Rather, I remember the work and why it inspired me. Because of this, I have a collection of different works and designs in the melting pot that simmer together and I won't be able to tell you what came from where. What I can tell you are the THINGS that do inspire me.

For example, really detailed or realistic paintings/illustrations inspire me because I am thinking of ways to improve my illustration abilities. While vector drawings, cartoons, and simple drawings are very inspirational as well, I am more drawn towards realism because that is the type of illustration I tend to to draw. Whenever I see a composition with interesting technique or lighting, I am inspired by it.

Photography is a recently acquired skill of mine, and because my talent in it is still in its infancy, I am always looking for an opportunity to utilize it in order to become more acquainted with it. Beautiful photographs have always inspired me. At first, what drew me into photography were those macro shots of objects/insects/flowers up-close. Then portraits became the next thing I was drawn towards. It is really hard to capture the perfect lighting! Not too long ago, I went to a photo exhibit and was really inspired by these vast, beautiful landscape photographs, so that is something I'm excited about now, too. I would say anything photographic, as long as it is somehow visually interesting, is something that inspires me.

Design-wise, I am really drawn towards work with clarity. I know a lot of times, designers like to make things very 'simple' and 'minimalistic', but sometimes the clarity gets lost because the design has been reduced so much to the point that the message is nearly gone as well. I think the goal of these designers was clarity. They may have just gotten caught up in trying to make things 'simple'. I used to get the two mixed up, 'simplicity' and 'clarity'. Something can be detailed and intricate and still be extremely clear. Of course, something can just be a shape on a background and still have the same effect. That would be simplicity and clarity. Clarity is important and that doesn't necessarily mean the work has to be minimal. At the same time, it doesn't mean busy, as well. I don't particularly like designs where my eyes have to continually scan and search to figure out what it is, unless it is scanning for a secondary meaning, a subtext, and the main message is clear. For example, the FedEx logo with the hidden arrow is something you have to search for, but you are rewarded for the effort. As long as the main message is clear, I think it is perfectly okay to have many hidden "Easter eggs" as well - which I try to do in order to create multiple layers and depth to my work.

What time of day do you find to be most creative? In class or outside of class?

There isn't a particular time of day I find to be most creativity-inducing. However, I do usually do a lot of my work during the evenings/nighttime, and sometimes in the very, very early hours of the morning (because I have taken an extended nap and woken up at 3:00 in the morning).

It doesn't matter to me what time it is, if I have an idea I'm excited about, I know what to do and I will just keep working. The hardest part is having a great idea come to me. There are times when it is instant and I know exactly what I want to do, but most times I have to think about it a lot, try certain things and see that they don't work, and then keep wrestling with it. And then all of a sudden, right as I'm about to fall asleep, or when I'm taking a shower, at some random moment or juncture, the right idea will come. I think first, I have to try a lot of things that don't work and sift through the coal until the diamond in the rough appears and I can start polishing it into a beautiful piece.

Sometimes that idea will come to me during class and I will be in work-mode for the rest of the class period. Other times it is when I'm at home. No matter what though, once I have an idea I know will work and I'm excited to work on, it will get done one way or the other because I will see it to completion. Most times, once I harness an idea, the project moves along quickly because I know what I want, and I will complete the project ahead of schedule, giving me a day or two to just relax and look back on it after some time and see if I see anything that needs tweaking or adjusting. This period helps me to fix small, tiny details and make minor changes that end up making the composition even stronger.

How do you define 'graphic design'?

Almost everything now-a-days is graphic design. I am looking at my computer screen right now as I'm typing this sentence, and already, I see all the icons and buttons of the browser, the desktop, and even the layout and design of the word processor used to type up this blog entry. All of these elements were carefully (and sometimes not so carefully) thought out by a designer. A lot of the graphic design we're exposed to on the computer is UI/UX design, but that is still graphic design.

Walk outside and scan with your eyes from left to right. Chances are you have just seen a vista of graphic design. From billboards to signs and logos, graphic design is ubiquitous in the world - especially in the digital age. Swipe your phone and you will see that everything on the screen was designed by a graphic designer.

Even basic necessities incorporate graphic design. All the packaging for food, all the advertisements for clothing, and catalogs for real estate, houses, and apartments all have been created by designers.

My point is that graphic design now molds how we see the world. I can create an advertisement to make you see a product in certain light, and all the elements from type choice to photograph of illustration, layout, and composition will all play a part in affecting your perception. Graphic design is the means of shaping perception, which in turn, communicates an idea. Good and effective design have clarity and is able to communicate a message to the viewer, forcing the viewer to realize a point, feel an emotion, become informed, or have their perception changed.

Identify contemporary designs that influence and inspire you.

Before class, I didn't know who this artist was, but after seeing my self-portrait, Stan introduced me to the work of Anthony Goicolea. When I saw his work, I saw how similar it was in technique to my efforts in my self-portrait piece. But after seeing a few more pieces, I started to question how he would do certain things and found limitation in my own technique. This drove me to further explore photography and image manipulation and now there are several pieces in my head that I would like to compose to see if I can accomplish them. Now, my intention isn't to mimic his work, but because I was inspired by his work I think I can refine my own process even further and it will be a test for that refinement process.

Here is a link to his website. Anthony Goicolea

Favorite and Least Favorite Designs

With the advent of the digital age, there has been a proliferation of design from all over the world, accessible right from our fingertips. While we are inspired by and marvel at countless wonderful designs, we are also struck by a deluge of horrible and head-shaking bad design as well.

Designs I tend to like possess some or all of these traits that I like to call the three Cs.
They are Clever and make you go, "Ohhhhh...! That's pretty cool!"
They have Clarity and aren't bogged down by a myriad of random or distracting elements.
They are Communicative and create either an intriguing narrative or gets the point across succinctly.

Here are some examples of designs that I found were appealing to me.

This is a logo for The Swan & Mallard Restaurant and it utilizes negative space in a creative way. The swan, mallard, and ampersand are all one element.

This logo is, in my book, a CCC. Triple C!

This is a very creative logo for a pet store called Feathers & Fur. The figure is both, at once, a dog and a bird. Clear, succinct, and creative.

CCC.

This logo is similar to the first two in concept. A golfer and profile of a Spartan warrior is combined to form the logo.

Some examples of design I don't particularly like or care for:

This one suffers from poor spellchecking/proofreading, making it hilariously bad.

This is at the T Deck parking garage at GSU. The sign almost reads "Exit addtional parking". I think it can be improved by being split into two signs: one that says exit, and another that says additional parking.