Blog Review
The first year at LCC is almost at an end. Having a blog throughout the year has served as a reference point for my projects at the time. Blogging was a new experience for me, and at times I was lost as to what to blog and how to blog. We were given a general overview at the beginning of the course but it has now developed beyond that into something more personal. By following other blogs you can see the importance that it can have on a designer. I found other blog sites to have a strong following that has built over time creating strong communities.
Throughout the year we were given different projects, ranging from branding to data visualising. I have tried to use my blog as more of a scrapbook so that I could refer to different influences at the time. This was different to other blogs such as itsnicethat.com that constantly updated various types of design. I found my biggest influence from, ‘Form Fifty Five’. They had organised their blog posts by types of design and contained selected influences, which I found appealing.
The difficulty I found with the blog was the constant updating and searching out new artists that I had not seen elsewhere. I did not want to look at other blogs and repost the same thing. I looked at interesting ways that I could use the blog and decided that it would be best to post what influences me at the time rather than work that may look good but did not inspire me personally.
The different projects that we faced on the course have challenged me. I have enjoyed the projects so far, particularly the Mapping Project. I found it extremely challenging at times to source data but that was half the fun. It pushed me to look at design differently, by understanding the topic I had chosen and then to visually present it. My Mapping Project outcome was not the best of my ability but this was also a learning experience on how to manage time so that the outcome of the work can be completed in time. My chosen topic did not have a lot of visual information, the data was from documentaries and books so creating a visual mood board were difficult at first. I chose to create something more tactile than print, as it complemented the data better.
“I do not care about colour, I only work in black and white and in line”
Bruno Maag
I also enjoyed the industry project from Dalton Maag. It was great to learn from an experienced designer who was so passionate about his field. From the initial presentation to visiting the studio was hugely inspirational. I was amazed at how many type faces he had created, especially a type for Ubuntu, which was available for free and was downloaded over a million times within a few months.
The level of detail that Bruno paid to type was incredible. Remembering one moment where he told two almost identical typefaces separated only by a single weight apart and was adamant they were different (he was right). The studio we visited was also great to see. Dalton Maag were currently working on typefaces for Nokia, this work has now been featured in magazines such as Creative Review.
The project also taught me a lot about type, as students we often overlook the importance of type and the details on why we choose a type. Working with a large group had its problems but the learning we gained from each other was invaluable. The end result was a book that contains references for students when considering type. Everyone had their part to explore and was given pages to document their interest in type.
Throughout the course I have learnt to explore different ways on how to explore design. By creating PDFs instead of just having a final piece of work showed the importance of how to present ideas clearly. Editing was also an important part of the projects; endless sketches that did not tell a story of how you got to the final piece were edited out in favour of more valuable information. This is something at first I was unsure about, but later on realised how your work must be edited precisely to show your outcome.
We were also asked to use the blog to write our Exhibition Review. This was unusual as we are normally asked to print our work out. We began by creating a draft so that other students could comment on the work, either through email or on the blog. Unfortunately this did not prove to be the case. Getting feedback was then a challenge as the term for VCT had finished. I liked using the blog to submit a review as it allowed you to explore writing as well as just visuals, and although I did not receive feedback from peers this is something that could work well.
My blog has been a personal success but it does need improving to establish myself among other designers. I should submit more of my work throughout the year and keep up to date. I will probably continue with the blog and make it more open by posting more of my work rather than just a scrapbook of inspiration.
The first year has gone well in terms of getting into the rhythm of working to briefs and deadlines. In hindsight there are things that could have been done differently, I feel it is important to learn from this so that I can improve going into the next year of the course.
“A creative artist works on his next composition because he was not satisfied with his previous one”
Dimitri Shostakovich
