Fashion Evaluation

I was asked to create a pitch for an interview with 'Arcadia group' because they're looking for a worker. The Interview pitch requires a fashion promotion ideas using subcultures such as Hippies, Punk, Goths and Grunge. The company is looking for creativity, artistic talent and skills, strong conceptual ideas and for something new and innovate.

I responded to this great opportunity firstly by choosing which youth culture i would go with. I went with Punk. After that i  produced a power point with examples and analysis of a fashion promotion. I did Dr mMartens and uggs. I included a list of jobs and their comparison like window displays and models. When i did that, i then gathered images creating a mood board for my youth culture that relates to my promotion and i carefully identified an iconic item of clothing or accessory. I went with Punk jackets.

To go with my pitch i had to produce two A3 pieces. Either in the form of a catwalk layout, a catwalk invite, a billboard, a website or a poster. To get inspired i did small sketches of jackets , also using different media. After producing small and larger testers. I did 5 thumbnails on catwalk layouts, billboard and catwalk invites. I had to think about the logo, limited colour pallet, timescale and a outcome. After doing my thumbnails, i had to produce X4 thumbnails sketches of two ideas for both of my selections, i has to compare them to arrive my final ideas. I went with catwalk design and a cat walk invite.

To make my power point more diverse, i selected and presented four examples of contemporary fashion promotions using primary and secondary sources of research.  I compared the merits of each and reviewed the promotional processes. I wrote about how certain fashion job roles fit in to the fashion industry and compared them to each other to see their differences.

For my two final pieces. For my Catwalk invite i used

• water colour (black)
• Fineliners/ thick red pen
• Imagery (a model from a magazine)

I used water colour for my whole background. I wet the page bit by bit, while doing so i would drop my black paint in to it, which created back dots. The black dots collided together, which gave it a nice effect because you could still see little specs of white.

The Fineliners i used for my text. I outlined my bubble writing in black and then drew lines in to the words, I used red to fill them in. I found a model wearing a punk jacket, so i cut her out and stuck her down in both bottoms corners. I drew out some text in the top centre and bottom. I drew it out in a bold red pen as i wanted my colours to compliment each other.

I feel like i did okay, i like what i finally produced. I really did overcome some challenges, i manage to like my work in the end. I t just took some tome to respect my own work. I think that my out come does and doesn't meet the brief. I think it doesn't because i'm not sure if i did enough work, but then again i think it does go with the brief because i managed to produce work that relates to the brief very well.

I thin that if money and time wasn't a problem i would want to take more time thinking about how i could pitch my ideas and make my powerpoint more detailed.

Iconic shoes Evaluation

The purpose of the brief was to 'produce some artwork, based around the theme of subcultures and shoes, which will be used for a wide range of promotional materials including flyer's and posters'.

My idea was to create a pointillism piece of work, that would give the impression that some group of girls wear the same shoes, but they are different colours. I thought this would be a good idea as i see lots of groups everywhere i go, especially around my college and seeing this just amazes me.

The materials and techniques i used were pointillism, that made the piece get built up to have character. The same detail gave it attitude. I used water colours, this gave the effect of pattern, as it left splodges. I also used collage, i used paper and newspaper and some paper from reading books. This gave it a bit of a retro look. I think this was well suited as i was trying to give the impression that girls shouldn't follow they should be themselves.
I feel the work is successful because it took lots of time and has eventually been built up to look professional. I think the work is good because it wasn't rushed.

I decided to alter the use of collage, i used to much dark tones, that distracted the eye from my pointillism. I feel this helped see the composition and design more. As my work consists of small detail it helps see my fine work.

I feel my work meets the requirements of the brief because my work links in to the theme of the event and will intrigue the public.

Several presentation methods would need to be considered. For instance, in order for the editors to use work for marketing purposes, the work would need to be scanned/photographed and presented in the format of either window mounting, flat mounting, foam mounting or even a E-portfolio.

If my work was selected for the exhibition, I think it would be nest presented in the way of foam mounting. This is so that, my work wouldn't rip or get bent.

paul signac was the artist that inspired me. His work is made up with pointillism. His work is magical and is full of life. He inspired me because he uses different compositions of trees (he does a lot of outdoor artwork). He takes time and uses just does to simply build up a beautiful piece. What really inspired me, was that he took certain shapes and filled them with one colour which would make up an image/shape and you would still know what it's meant to be.

Health and safety notes

• Put lids back on pens
• Wash up paint brushes and dry them after use
• Put lids back on paints
• Be careful with the glue

Surface deign Evaluation

I was asked to design a new high piece of jewellery inspired by the punk movement. I have to create 6 small samples of different ideas and one final piece, they have to be 8cm by 8cm. I first responded by creating a pinterest board on Vivienne Westwood. I gathered about 20 images, after doing that i sketched out a mind map of ideas and materials that i could possibly use. After that i tested out different Lino prints of crosses and i also tried out impressing punk designs on alluminium tin cans.

My idea started to develop by testing out different colours and composition. I firstly started testing out colours like yellow and green, but i didn't like it because it doesn't relate to punk at all. The colours are to bright, so then i started testing out darker colours and i finally found the colours i liked. I think red and black really reflect the punk movement.

I think if time and money wasn't a problem i would want to make a jewellery piece with my design on it. I feel like i may be successful, I'm not 100% clear on how i feel. I do actually like my final piece and i adore my testers, but i just feel a little blank when it comes to this subject. I did overcome some challenges, i got confused and sad about how i would produce my final piece and i thought that i would fail everything, but i think I've done pretty well overall.

I think that my out come meets the brief because my final piece reflects the punk movement. I think my colours are appropriate and my media has been done pretty well.

Researching artists i couldn't get in to any of their work, i think Vivienne Westwood was personally the best inspiration for this brief. Her work really got me thinking about texture and composition. I like the fact that her work consists of patterns that relate to punk. Most of her work has checked dress lines in it. I love everything about her work. She thinks outside of the box, she takes everyday items and combines them, which makes them look perfect. What i like the most about her work is that it's different, it's not girly girl. It's for people who actually respect art and for people who wouldn't judge, for as she is very punk.

 This Lino print is related to punk because of the rough look it's got. The black and purple make it even more so, but i think blue and brown help compliment it more than push it. Around the shape of the cross, there are worm like shapes that have little fading dots. The dots makes it look messy and give it some attitude. Where i have used a collage of different sugar papers, to give it character. Where the paints i used were brighter than the paper this helped made everything stand out.

This piece was one of my first testers. In all honesty, i think this doesn't relate to punk at all. Pink is to calm for 'punk'. The design it's self however does relate to punk, because the cross shape is apart of what a typical 'punk' person would wear. The random patches of colour missing looks good, but it's not that eye catching with a light background.

I really like this piece because the texture is very rough and has a very 'punk' feel to it. This piece was also one of my first testers, i think that green doesn't really fit in with the punk theme, but because the card i used had bumps on it, it makes the design come to life by giving it character and an attitude.

Where the paint sits on the bumps it gives it a grass like effect. The bumps also leave little specs of white, so it looks more messy.

This was my very first tester. I honestly like the composition of it. I wished that i had used maybe red and black paint wish for this piece because yellow and green don't really say 'punk'.
But, where i have used light colours it brings out the black sugar paper, which also helps bring out the brown paper. The brown and the black have a nice tone to them, where the brown is a light brown it helps compliment each other.

This is my final piece. I chose this to be my final piece because the colour palate was perfect. The black, red and brown really compliment each other, and they are typical 'punk' colours. The collage of the sugar paper isn't overwhelming or distracting. The paper i used was nice because it left little cracks in the paint when it dried. Also where i rolled my lino print over the paper, where i might of not pressed hard enough, it left little areas of white patches. Where the collage of paper breaks up, it creates lines that separate the colours, this makes different light or dark tones.

For these images underneath, i did the same thing. I rolled out clay that was 8cm by 8cm. Then i pressed down items that related to punk like, paper clips, zips and round studs. After they got fired, i then painted over the top with them with red or black, i chose red and black because they symbolized 'punk' the best.

Health and safety notes

• Be careful with sharp lino cutters
• Wash Lino print after use
• Wash up lino roller and board after use
• Be careful with clay
• Be careful with sharp tools
• Whip clay tiles after applying paint 

Photography Evaluation with final pieces

I was asked to produce nine quality images for the Guardian's 'weekend magazine'. As they were writing an article on 'youth culture' and were investigating the meaning of it. I went and first responded by collecting images of different 'youth cultures' for examples i created a pinterest board on goths, rockers, emos, punks and loads more. I then drew out mind maps of ideas and more youth cultures. I wrote out ideas about what i could produce for my final pieces.  When i finally got to a point where i knew what i wanted to do, i went and looked at other artists who take similar photos to my idea. I analysed their work on my blog and compared the similarities in mine and their works. 

By researching artists this helped developed my idea because i could see how they took their images, if they were from high or low angels, or if they were portraits or taken in the studio. This got me thinking about how i could produce my final pieces. I went outside and took lots of images to see if the atmosphere would fit in with my idea. This guided me to try and maybe not have such a busy background, so i tested out taking photos in the studio. 

 This image consists of colour, colour has been used by the show lights. As there was only one show light on the left side of the model, the light goes across one side of their face. Where he is close to the show light, it's made it more clear to see his whole face, also this makes the text more easy to read. Where i have used a black background this makes the colours stand out more, the white board over the dark clothing helps make it stand out and the brighter colours on the text draws the eye right to the center, which is the main feature. This photo has a smooth texture because everything looks neat and nothing looks messy, which doesn't give it a retro feel. Where there is different colours on the board, they are different tones. The show light have created light and dark spots around the model, there are different tones of black/grey because of this.

The photo is in focus, however there is a small sign of action blur. The sign isn't fully in focus. Also there are technical distractions, glares and dust are surrounding the outline of the model. There isn't to much lighting which makes the photo somewhat sharp. Where the background is black, the subject matter in the foreground becomes three dimensional. There is a low exposure which results to unwanted muddle contrast lines. The distance between the nearest and the furthest object gives a focused image (between the background and the model). This is known as depth of field.

The ISO was done at 200. ISO 200 – 1/2 of a second.

As i used a black drop background the show light really brings out the small details. I love the way the light brings out half of the face, but you can still see the other half. As the model is smiling, i think it's beautiful. The colours on her top don't distract the eye from the quote. As the text is black and white and there are chunks of black squares, this makes the eye still draw to it, even though the quotes are the main features. I chose this piece as one of my finals because the quote just fits in perfectly with her emotion. Like the other image, the photo has a smooth texture because it looks new and doesn't have an old boring feel.

Other than the perks of this images, there are many flaws when it comes to the technical side of things. The composition of this image isn't the best. The exposure is low, which makes this a too-dark photo. I think if i adjusted the exposure time this would of created a more crispness in the contrast, which would add to the raw grit of the photograph.

The ISO setting was done at 200, which increases the sensitivity of my camera. The ISO setting is done at 200, this is so that it has more detail and less dots. As the camera is on a tripod it helps capture the scene, the flat surface helps capture detail. On the other hand as the setting is on a low ISO, if there were to be any movement it would just look like a ghostly figure.  Low ISO is mainly for dark din environments, that's why i used it.

As i used a black drop background for this image, it looks amazing. The show light brings out the text on the board really well. Even though the model has bent the board slightly, it's not distracting or 100% clear, you would have to look twice. As the model is wearing dark tones this really helps bring out the board. I think i made a good choice of using black and white for this quote, as he there is a lot of darkness in this photo. Also where the model is posing, it doesn't overwhelm the quote, it's not overly distracting.

Shutter speed- If the shutter speed is fast, it can help to freeze action completely, as seen in the above photo. Luckily the shutter speed isn't slow, as it can create an effect called “motion blur”, where moving objects appear blurred along the direction of the motion. Where this hasn't happened, the image is focused nicely. The camera setting was set to “Manual” mode, where you set both shutter speed and aperture manually. I think it worked quite well.

Exposure- There is a high exposure which allows more light to filter in. Therefore there are white highlights, i am happy with this because the signs are my main focus.

I love this photo because there is so much emotion and the quote just fits perfectly. The show light captures everything. You can see her face really clearly and you can see the quote too. The models hair is really shinny, which makes the texture of it look really smooth and where there are little bits of her hair moving, there is different tones showing. You can see light and dark blonde specs. As the light was captured in a perfect moment, the writing on the board has really clear detail. You can see where i painted it on, there are little splurges of black circles. Al so where she is wearing dark clothes like the other models this creates a dark boarder around the quote, which helps pop it out of the image.   

Lighting- Even though the light was captured in a good moment, there are still flaws to this photo. There is to much light, which is because of technical difficulties.  

Exposure- There is a low exposure, which has given the sign random Grey looking strokes across it. This was very unwanted. I would deferentially take more consideration in my time plan for taking an image. 

 Aperture- I used a small f-number such as f/1.4 which isolates the foreground from the background by making the foreground objects sharp and the background blurry.

Even though the text isn't really the brightest colour going. The pinky red still stands out against the dark purple and blue on the models top. Where the model is standing closer to the show light, everything is clear in this image, all the small details come to life. For example the small text is clear and looks bold even though it's not the boldest thing in the image. Even though there is lots of detail on the models top, this doesn't distract the eye from the text. The light on her eyes draw the viewer downwards to the quote.

Exposure- As this image has a low exposure thee are muddle contrast lines. This is very distracting and annoying, as therefore this image isn't in a great focus.  

Focus- This image may look completely focused, but the sign is slightly blurred because of action movement. Therefore it's blurred not by the camera lens being moved, it's by the movement of the model. Which may took effect move because i couldn't get her to calm down. 

Shutter speed- Once again the ISO was at 200. This is because it's the best way to capture detail in a dim atmosphere. 

The black background really helps to bring this image to life and where the model is posing this gives the photo a heap of character. The show light brings out the colour on half of his face, which leads the eye downwards. The quote board has some stains on it, but i think it gives the photo more of an atmosphere, it brings the outside world in to the image. As the light is only coming from one side you can see his clothing details very well. The image consists of many tones, there are light and dark tones on the models face, there is a shadow effect on his face. Also his right side is nearly completely black, but there are still specs of Grey. 

Other than the emotion of the picture there are not many techinal problems with this image. The photo is focused, there isn't dust or distracting glares. There isn't to much or to less light, it's perfect. The ISO is at 200 like the others, which has captured the small detail in this image.

I am in love with this photo. Where the light has captured most of the model, her blue top brings out the colours in her eyes. Which makes me contemplate that there is a story behind her eyes and the quote. The colours from her clothes and the black background all compliment each other because they're warm colours. The texture of this photo is smooth, just like all the other it look new and up to date, there's nothing retro about this image.

I used Bokeh, also known as “Boke”. Bokeh makes photographs visually appealing, forcing us to focus our attention on a particular area of the image. I used this where my background is black, it makes the foreground three dimensional and therefore it draws your eye to the foreground. 

The composition of this image is good, she isn't standing to close to the show light. There is no bad exposure, so that there is no dust or glares. 

The models actions and the quote go really well together. Her actions build up the character, this image is full of emotion and character because of the way shes making herself look. The show light has captured her whole face, there is a little shadow effect on her right hand side of her face. The black drop background compliments the colours on her top and the dark tones in the foreground and background make the quote stand out.

Exposure- As there is a lower exposure the result is that there i muddled contrast lines. These lines are distracting and are unwanted. This pertains to the length of time the camera was enabled to take in the image and affects the lighting and contrast.

ISO- 200

Lighting- There is to much light which came down to technical problems, that i was unaware about. 

Dust- There is dust and other technical distractions. The dust makes the photo look very unprofessional. You can spot the dust in either lines that look fuzzy or random specs of weird shapes. 

This image is great because where the model has turned her face, you can see a shadow effect on the side of her face, which makes tones going down her neck. The tones get lighter as they go downwards, i like the fact that the show light has captured her left side really well. Also where she is smiling it really brings out her character and the quote fits perfectly because she is fully herself in this image. The light brings out how the text on the board was formed, you can tell that i painted the text because of the clear detail shown.

Unfortunately there is low exposure, which has made random glares appear. The image still looks darn good though. The composition is good, because the lighting has captured the sign, which is my main focus. Also this image would of looked three dimensional if the model was looking straight and standing not so close to the show light. 

I think that i have met the brief because i have used song lyrics to reflect 'youth culture'. I think that the quotes i have used reflect teenagers pretty well. I think that if time and money wasn't an issue, then i would of changed the composition and would of used different backgrounds and more quotes. 

The artist that inspired me was Gillian wearing. Her work consists of people holding signs, even though her work doesn't involve black backgrounds as mine does. I like the fact that she took everyday people and got them to hold signs that would get you thinking about the meaning, and would get you thinking about everyday life it's self. 

I also really like the fact that she used some busy backgrounds, but they weren't overwhelming at all because they were slightly blurry, which would make the people and the signs stand out, which is the main purpose. What inspired me the most though was the fact that she used personal quotes and that everything about her work has character and emotion and even though some of the emotion may seem fake, it's not.

Health and safety notes

• Be careful when sorting the light setting out 
• Don't use the flash in your eyes
• Don't drop camera 
• Put back background drop after using it
• Put everything away after use

Graphics Typography Evaluation with final piece

I was asked to create an A3 typographic piece that was based around a song that inspired generations. The piece must not have any imagery and must have graphic presented lyrics. I decided to respond by collecting images on Pinterest, i collected images of typographic artwork. I then researched songs that changed generations, I ended up going with 'smoke on the water' by Deep purple.

My idea developed by sketching out different typeface systems. I ended up going with the random system as a starting point. I fist sketched out a few random systems and then moved my experimentation on to Illustrator. My experimentation guided me by testing out different starting points, like in corners or in the centre of the page. It also helped me to change colours and chose sizes of my fonts. It took a while to get use to using Illustrator because I'm not great when it comes to using computers.

For the first piece that i developed, the formal elements I used were tone, line and texture. I used tone by making my fonts bold or thin, I made my fonts bold by stretching my words. The bold fonts give the piece a nice flow. Line was formed by writing text in a straight line, or placing words in certain places to form lines. Lastly I used texture by choosing certain fonts that had cracks or rigid corners. I think this makes the piece complete. It gives it character.

For my second piece, the formal elements I used were colour, shape, pattern, tone and texture. I used colour by making certain words have colours that reflected the word. For example I made the word "fire" red and the word 'sky' blue. Making the words have colour gives the piece character. I used shape by repeating a curved half circle around my piece. By doing that it gives my piece a nice flow, it looks like a design, not something that just covers the page. Tone was used by the font of some texts that have dark corners, or light tones. Texture was done by text having smooth or rough edges. Like certain fonts that i used.

For my third piece, the formal elements I used were, colour, line, shape and pattern. I used colour by having a black background and putting white text over the top, so that it would stand out. I like the composition of the text over the background because it looks professional. I created lines by repeating the same sentence going around in lines in a square shape, i think this gives the piece a nice look and flow. Shape was formed by the lines building up a square shape and pattern was done by the repetition of the same text.

For my fourth piece, the formal elements i used were, colour, line, shape and pattern. I used colour by having a black background and putting red text over the top, so that it would stand out. I really like the red on the black background, it reflects the song really well as this song is abut a fire. I created lines by repeating the same sentence going around in lines in a square shape. The lined get smaller as going inwards, which gives it a 3d effect. Shape was formed by the lines building up a square shape and pattern was done by the repetition of the same text. This is my final piece, i chose this to be my final piece because i love the red on the dark background and where i have used red text, it reflects the song really well because it's about a fire. I also chose this as my final because i just love the 3d effect.

For my fifth piece, the formal elements that i used were colour, tone, pattern and texture. I used colour by having a white background and placing black text over the top. I love the way lack and white just compliment each other. Tone was created by having certain texts that were darker or lighter than another, (certain fonts). Texture was done by having smooth and rough fonts. I created pattern by repeating the same words.

I used Illustrator on all of my work and used the font tool for every piece. I used the pen tool to draw lines and curves, i then used the type on a line tool to put text on the line. I feel like I was successful in the end, at first i felt like giving up, but i finally came to my senses and did it. I overcame wanting to give up. If money and time wasn't an issue, I would make my work better by including imagery and more colours.

Craig Ward  and Robert Bringhurst inspired me the most because their work consists of character and colour. Even though if you were to compare my final piece and their work together it wouldn't look the same at all. I like the way they used composition of fonts and colours that reflect the meaning of the words. I feel like my work meets the brief just about because i have covered most of what i have had to do.

Craig Ward was the most inspirational Artist towards my work. His work inspired me because his work was full with character the most. Even though his work is simple, it just gets to the point and doesn't overwhelm. I like that in work. I think what inspired me the most about his work was that his work was different and made you feel warmth. I loved the fact that his work made me feel something and made me think about the meaning of his work and if their was maybe a story behind it.


Health and safety notes:

• Sit up straight when using computer.

• Look away from the screen every now and then, so that your eyes don't strain.

• Have no food or drink by the computer.

• Get up and move around, so that your body doesn't ache.

Nikki Black

Other than looking at Gillian Wearing i had a little look at Nikki Black. I know that Nikki's images aren't people holding signs, but her work consists of text. Nikki's work is more gothic and dark compared to Gillian's work.

Nikki's work inspired me because his backgrounds are mostly black or white and are taken in the studio.

 I like this image because the background has white and black in it, but it's not distracting at all. I love the contrast of it. I think the spotty tone draws the eyes in to the text on the girls tops. The dark shaded tone in the right hand corner also draws the viewers eye in to the centre of the image.

This image inspired me more because as i want my text to stand out. This image has a model and text, but the text stands out more than the model. The text is bold and has a use of colour. The colours compliment each other and they don't clash at all.

Editing photos

I opened up my images in Bridge and selected the image i wanted to image. It would automatically go in to Photoshop. I saved the image as a different name so that it wouldn't edit the original one. Then i went in new adjustment layer and selected 'black and white'. I then played around with the colours. I like this effect because the background has became a darker tone and the sign is clear. Which is what i really wanted to be clear the most. I also really like the shade effect on the face, it draws your eye downwards to the sign.

I used the same effect for each image, but i changed different colours. I love all of the images below, because they all have a film strip effect.

For the last two bottom images, i used a different effect. I selected new adjustment layer and clicked on 'colour balanced'. I like the one use of colour because it gives a warm feeling and you can still read the sign.

Comparing the black and white images to the ones in colour. I think the ones in colours are much more better. They give off more character and they have one simple tone to them. The colours aren't overwhelming or distracting. The colours compliment each other. On the other hand the images in colour are great, but they make the viewer more interested in the colour. I think the colours are to bright. I like the retro look to them though.

Health and safety:

Sit up straight when using computer.
Look away from the screen every now and then, so that your eyes don't strain.
Have no food or drink by the computer.
Get up and move around, so that your body doesn't ache.