Visits and Events - Comic Museum.

Located on Little Russell Street is this hidden treasure, simply called, 'The Cartoon Museum'. I had only heard about it due to my mum telling me there was a small cartoon gallery around the area of the british museum that she had seen and thought I would be interested in having a look at one day. So on Tuesday 12th August, Myself and 4 fellow future students from GD headed down to London for a day trip and we decided we should take a look at the museum.  

 I wasn't too sure what to expect as I ventured inside, would it just be photo's on a wall, maybe animation but nothing could come close to what I THOUGHT it would be like to what it was actually like. The main foyer room was where you could buy your ticket to go through but it was also filled with books, posters, post cards and pretty much anything else that illustration orientated.

 This photo [LEFT] was the main entrance before you walked into the exhibition show, I love how pretty much the whole wall as been filled up with all sorts of illustrations and characters - some being familiar and some quite obscure. Never the less, this was a perfect way to introduce you to the world of illustration before walking into the main sector. My favourite design on this wall here is definitely the Napoleon sketch on the far left of the wall - the designer has stretched the cartoon so it fits the length of the door frame.




These photo's are just some that I was able to get whilst my time there, I was more fascinated by the designs and illustrations that half the time I forgot to reference it and take photo's. Although there was some issues with taking photo's, meaning you could only take general shots and not close up ones - I went against these rules slightly and took as best pictures as I could get as the illustrations were totally worth the shots of getting caught.

   

Out of both floors on the exhibition it was this rather crude comic strip featuring Desperate Dan and it being related to Animal Cruelty. Now in design, there is that big thing about even if you love it or hate it, it'll be on your mind and you'll remember it, and talk about it to others - this is a prime example of this, if you read the comic strip from left to right you will begin to see how crude and vulgar it actually is. It made me think how this was acceptable back in 1939;

Handful of Concepts - Real life drop box.

"Real life drop-box."

These days, us designers tend to use the website Drop Box an awful lot to share and keep our work safe on an online virtual box. Thinking way into future terms, almost like a portal, you could have 2 boxes or containers - one at your location and another at your destination , and just put the items your wished into the box. This would then magically teleport the items to the other box meaning you can easily transport goods, items, ect. 

Advertising - Watch Dogs.

If you had read the ABOUT ME section of my blog, then you would know I quite like gaming and that all sorts of video games actually help fuel my ideas. Quite recently, a game called 'Watch Dogs' has just come out on all platforms, but before it was released there was this rather iconic and interactive advert which fooled unsuspected passers by into subconsciously being apart of the game but in real life.

The whole concept of this idea was really well thought out, initially there would be a place like in any ordinary town, where you can get your phone fixed but in this case the salesman offers to add in a free app. Once the app is inserted, the salesman takes the customer outside to show them what it can do, things such as; Turn on and off street lamps, Open car doors, Eject money from ATM'. But the good thing about them showing these specific features, is that these are just some of the things that is possible in the new game. It makes the consumer feel much more connected with the brand and also excited for the release of the initial game because the things that they had just witnessed were quite clearly illegal, yet they loved it. I advise you to watch the whole of the video linked above to get a gist of what I am talking about. This is a great way to interact and gain more interest from the public / consumers.

Handful of Concepts - Colour Shower.

"A shower that changes colour due to the temperature"

This idea would work great for people with the loss of touch, as it would be a shower synced up with some L.E.D lights to show what temperature it is for those who can't feel the sensation of heat. To be honest, it would also lighten up your shower times in the evening with the lights off for anyone;

HOT - RED
WARM - ORANGE
MILD - GREEN
COLD - BLUE

and the rest in between.  

Handful of Concepts - Designers Knife.

"A swiss army knife created for designers."

I was thinking the other day, seeing as I quite like to have my utensils for working around me and knowing where they all are. Taking the idea of a Swiss Army Knife where all the essential equipment you need for camping / exploring is - you could create a "Designers Knife" with essential equipment needed for any area of design, for example the knife could include;

Pencil, Pen, Paint Brush, Ruler, Compass, Scalpel, Sharpener, Rubber ect. 

Personal Inspirations - Jay Howell.

It was only very recently that I stumbled across Jay Howell's unique style of illustration and work that he produces. I first saw his work on a music video of one of my favourite artists Flume, where I felt his work was completely out of the ordinary and rather special in the illustration area, it was from here on that I decided to google and look up his work in a bit more depth.

 

I think the main reason why I like Jay's work so much is that its nothing compared to any illustrator I have seen before. Seeing as most illustrators that I like are very clean and precise with their projects, Jay is the complete opposite. In my personal opinion, I feel his work is very sketchy and quite unique in its own way. By elongating the legs of the characters that he makes, and in the video above, he literally takes your imagination to a whole next level, having illustrated characters with 3 heads, oddly shaped bodies, multiple eyes and so on. I am really fond of his work as its something, quite literally, out of the ordinary.

These are just 2 other posters, that I felt showed off Jay Howell's work best and also ones that stood out to me and appealed to me most.

Timeout Magazine - Clink.

 

LINKING IN WITH MY OTHER TIMEOUT POST;

Another interesting page I had found in the Timeout Magazine was this part on hotels and hostels, the main reason I was so drawn towards it was because of the graphics used to talk about the company. I was so intrigued, I decided to go onto their website and see what other communicative and unique graphics they used, and these are just a few screen shots of what I found;

As soon as you click onto the website, it looks really friendly with everything you need in the right place - which saves time and hassle when having to search endlessly for something. The colour scheme that they had used in the magazine, was exactly the same on the website which made it look connected and not a mess. I think that the cyan and yellow works well together, the yellow isn't too over powering nor does it get washed out by the blue.

I decided to grab a screen shot of these small info-graphics that they had going on the website, initially I genuinely thought they were there just to liven up the page, but once I actually used my head I realised that the 4 other words were links to different websites that they run. Then the little icons underneath were to do with what was available in each hostel ect. For example, the 2 icons far left look as if it is saying "This hostel has available bathrooms and showers..." and so forth. 

Visits & Events - VFestival.

Over the weekend of August 15th - 18th, I headed up to V Festival at Weston Park, in Staffordshire. Safe to say that the weather held up pretty good for 3 of the 4 days, until on the day of us leaving Monday it pretty much poured down. Although I didn't go there for anything design related, the posters and patterns used to advertise the event really struck my eye, I do like how they have used a paint splatter and made the colours quite vibrant to make the whole poster stand out from the rest of the text. However, I prefer last years designs to this one, because Jared Nickerson designed the whole thing as I spoke about previously in this blog, I'm really fond of his work, never the less, I do quite like this design that has been done for 2014.

2014 Poster

2013 Poster

One visual thing that did catch my eye a fair amount there, was the design at the MTV Stage. The use of typography and different styled calligraphy to make up this really unique looking banner on both sides of the stage was fairly eye catching. You can just about see it in the Sam Smith photo below, where it is visible underneath the 2 main screens, it linked in well with what the music the MTV stage was giving out.

These are just a few photo's and videos that I managed to get whilst at my time there, without me going on too much about it; It was probably one of my best weekends this year.

Handful of Concepts - 12hr Aftershave.

"12hr Aftershave."

Now-a-days, there are all types of deodorant and anti-perspirants that last up to "24 hours of use", to save the constant use of aftershave OR perfume for us to keep on smelling attractive - why not invent a spray that lasts for 12 or even 24 hours. This way it will reduce the amount of spray needed to go out on for a night out, interview or just in general. 

Visits & Events - Russian Revolution.

The Russian Revolutionary Posters exhibition displays some fantastic advertisements produced by Russian artists between the 1910's - 1930's. It was located on the 2nd Floor of the Tate Modern, in the poetry and dream section. The Russian art was created when the communist movement decided to take over the printing presses, so that they could print off newspapers, posters, signs and leaflets to gain a winning support for their ideas. All 4 walls were covered in propaganda posters, which made you feel overwhelmed and also a feel the sense of power that the communist government had.  

From the 50 posters that I had seen, it was this particular one that caught my eye as I looked at each design. Unlike the other posters which were bod red backgrounds with very dominating type-faces, this one was still very political but it came across in a much calmer way due to the colours and illustration used in this design. I really like how they have portrayed themselves as being on top of the world, and people following them which is my eyes sort of relates to the whole supporting the communist and eventually they will take over the world. 

Handful of Concepts - Pillow Speaker.

"A pillow which has a speaker built-in."

For me, the only way I can get a good nights sleep is if I'm listening to music whilst I doze of and I thought instead of having my phone or mac on all night to just listen to music and causing them to overheat. Why not get a pillow which has a built-in speaker and music player in, this would then reduce the risk of overheating my appliances in my room whilst I sleep. The speaker would be at either end of the pillow - and the mp3 being at the back with my choice of songs synced onto it. The whole middle section would be as soft as any other pillow as you wouldn't want to take that feeling of comfiness away.

Timeout Magazine - Camden Market.

After I had drilled through the magazine, I started to flick through the pages seeing if there was anything that looked appealing or engaging to me. It was until I turned onto the 'Shops & Services' section and saw that the drill had gone through a picture of Camdem Market. [Highlighted in Red]

 Now this was somewhere I had never been before, but had heard a fair amount about; how its a really fantastic atmosphere, there is a variety of items to purchase and that the prices are quite low!

So on Thursday 31st July, myself and David headed down to London once again and including the trip to Southbank, we went to Camdem market for an hour or so. I could tell as soon as I left the tube it was a busy and I was right. Hundreds and Hundreds of people walked the streets of Camdem and as we came closer to the market even more were rummaging through the contents of what was there to purchase. Seeing as I never been to the market before or Camdem at that, I wasn't too sure what to expect.

 As we walked further down into Camdem, I was fascinated with the art work displayed above the shops, and how it wasn't your average advertisements. They use 3D models to advertise their companies - to me - this is a really great way to get people to notice what you were selling not only from up close but also because they were so large, and could be seen from from half way down the street. On the photo (RIGHT), there is a shoe shop called 'Scorpion' and what they have done is quite simply incorporated shoes and a scorpion together to create this symmetrical piece. Next to the shoe shop, is a tattoo and piercing parlour, and by the theme from the layout of the art work with it being quite dark and gothic - you can sort of see why they went down this route to brand the front of their shop like this. Finally, in this photo, is a Thai restaurant and its expressed by having a huge Chinese dragon covering most of the front of the shop. I feel this is a great way to advertise and its completely different to normal posters, flyers or billboards.

After we had finished looking around the markets and Camdem's streets - we headed out down the back alley of one of the markets which lead to the tube station. This is where I discovered a beautiful piece of street art just sitting there. The use of just 3 colours makes the green all that more vibrant and engaging, and the fact its not just one illustration or painting, it's a number of them all thrown into one display. It makes is all the more exciting to look at. It kind of reminds me of Iain Mcarthur's work with all the surrealism and creativity going - except this is clearly down in a different medium.

Handful of Concepts - Memory Loss Pill.

"A pill that temporarily gives your memory loss."

I've had this idea for a while now, I mean say if you've watched a great film, seen a jaw dropping box set or read an incredible book. Do you remember the feeling you had when you experienced it? Then you search endlessly to find something which either comes close or is better than what you previously engaged in. Why not create a pill of some sort which would give you temporary memory loss, meaning you can re-live those feelings whilst watching or reading your favourite book / film. The memory loss would only be extent enough to you forgetting you read or watched, it wouldn't go as far as wiping your memory because then you'd be too focused on where you were, who you were, all those questions instead of practically 'Re-living' your experience.

Handful of Concepts - Travel the country.

"A card drinking game using old train tickets."

This game would be essentially a pack of train tickets faced down in the middle of the table and with a pint glass full of mixed drinks (Dirty Pint) next to the pile. Then turn by turn a player would select a card on the top of the pile, picking it up and looking at the DESTINATION only, but nobody else should see this card. They then have 1 minute to collect as many items to do with this destination as they can that they can find in their homes. If they fail to return within the minute then they fail this round and must have to take a shot of the mixed drink in the middle. If they return within in the time limit, then with the items they have collected; you will now have 2 minutes for the rest of the table to guess what the place is.
The other players are aloud to ask questions but much like the Yes and No game the questions asked can only be responded in a YES or NO fashion, but they cannot be direct; such as "Is it... , Does it begin with..." ect.
If the table DOES manage to guess the destination then you must take a shot of the dirty pint. If the table DOES NOT guess the correct destination then you gain yourself a point and you don't take a shot from the pint glass. The old train tickets can be supplied by anyone on the table, as long there is at least 20 + to play with, the great thing about this is - the tickets may be completely different between each time you play.
 The game ends with the first player reaching 10 points or until everyone is so bladdered that they can't manage get out of the room.

Visits & Events - Southbank.

On Thursday 31st July, Myself and David headed down to Southbank to look at the Festival of Love and also just the environment there. I had never been to Southbank before but from watching a fair amount of 'Urban Movement' video's I had become aware that it was the place to be to train parkour/free running due to its nickname 'Concrete Jungle' - This was quite apparent when I arrived. After leaving the tube station, it was only about a 5 - 10 minute walk down to the River Thames where the Festival of Love was being held. 

This was the entrance to the Festival of Love.

I love the typeface and colours used for this design / entrance, its extremely bold and in your face - from practically a mile of I could see this stand above the tree's. I also really like the use of the geometric patterns and symmetrical shape to it from looking at it face on - I guess thats the OCD side in me liking everything to be the same on one side and the other. The type-face used has a deep drop shadow which makes the vibrant neon colours stand out even more and it is quite vintage like one of those fonts you would see on retro packaging.

    

   

Dotted around the Festival location in a radius of about 1 - 2 miles, there were a variety of ornaments and colourful models related to whole theme. There were also I think about 7 different words all in greek that were repeated around the area, and linking in with the event, these words all had the meaning of love;

                                                                                                                                        

AGAPE - The love of humanity.

STORGE - Family love.

PRAGMA - Love which endures.

PHILAUTIA - Self Respect.

PHILIA - Share experiences. 

LUDUS - Flirting, Playful affection.

EROS - Romantic and erotic love.

                                                                                                                                        

A short summary of the event that was taking place.

Once, I was ready to head back to the tube station I decided to take a different way back to see if there was any hidden discoveries dotted about. Funnily enough there was this great graffiti artwork just on the side of a café. The fact that it is done in only white and black makes it all that more different - it almost looks as if its been done in chalk and not spray paint. The shading and overall effect that this gives off is great, it kind of reminds me of book the illustrations you would find;
 London is perfect for little unearthed treasures like these.