Week 1: Who, What, Where and Why

In celebration of the commencement of our Graphic Design MA course, we were tasked to produce a quadriptych that answered four questions; who are we, what do we do, where are we from, and why we want to design.

I was really excited to get started with this challenge, and in general, this whole course- so the the first thing I did to get the ball rolling was answer each of the four questions.

Workshop Challenge Brief

Produce a quadriptych (four images) to illustrate your answer to each of the following questions.

Who are you? (Name, background, influences, what makes you you?)

What is it that you do? (Showcase a pivotal project or moment in your practice)

Where are you? (geographically and does this have an impact on how you work?)

Why Design? (What does design mean to you? What does it do?)

Design your four images as a grid and save as one image. This is a relatively quick exercise but all final images must be considered in how they communicate and answer the questions.

Who

The first piece was inspired by a range of different elements. First of all, growing up within the Cotswold countryside, I was often surrounded by nature. A lot of my fondest memories involved running through fields, playing in the woods, or walking my dogs with my family- especially in the summer. The beauty of the scenery in the spring and summer seasons has been a continuous source of inspiration and I will often try to incorporate nature into my own art projects.

Fig. 1- Life Aquatic Colour Palette. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/284641638926532783/

Fig. 2- Life Aquatic Film Poster. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477096/

Fig. 3- Wes Anderson Colour Palettes. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/419327415309077234/

I also decided to that I would try to incorporate a Wes Anderson inspired colour palette (a similar colour palette from 'Life Aquatic') and reference the films unique composition as a way to reflect upon my absolute love and appreciation for film and my roots as a filmmaker.

Fig. 4- The Grand Budapest Hotel. http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2017/8-reasons-the-grand-budapest-hotel-is-wes-andersons-best-movie/

Fig. 5- Isle of Dogs. https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2018/03/isle-of-dogs-gets-a-series-of-canine-character-posters/

Fig. 6- Moonrise Kingdom. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/392798398741151277/

Fig. 7- The Grand Budapest Hotel. http://alanajonesmann.com/2015/02/monday-motivation-wes-anderson/

Wes Anderson has been one of my all time favourite directors for the duration of my film and media studies- the cinematography, the costume design and production design within these films always inspires me to think about how I can use colour to my advantage- whether that be to influence my audiences emotions, to create symbolism or to simply catch a persons eye.

Colour and composition are two of the key elements that I want to try and master in my design work within the next two years of my studies. I also hope to learn about and incorporate typography into these pieces- not as an afterthought but as another element that meshes with the other features and adds to its underlining context.

In general, the whole piece also reflects on my love illustrative art and design- with its use of bold colours, interesting textures, patterns and shapes. I like to incorporate these elements into my own work and have often been praised on my Instagram page for my use of texture (which is definitely something I want to investigate into in the future).

What

Although I had come from a film and media background, I believe that my genuine passion for art and design had started during my studies at university.

It was within my time studying Film Production where got to take on a range of different Art Department roles- and it was through these roles where I had gained invaluable experience as a production designer.

One of my proudest achievements so far was when I got to design and build an Edwardian-styled bedroom from scratch. In turn, my art department and I got to create a brilliant set that had the power to truly immerse our audience into context of the film.

Where

I currently live in Cheltenham, a beautiful and historic town that is most famous for the horse races. However, my favourite thing about Cheltenham is the creativity that seems to exude from every street- from giant murals, to graffiti art, to the peculiar metal statue depicting a hare and a minotaur.

This statue, created by local artist Sophie Ryder, can be found on The Promenade and has been stationed there since 1998. Although it was initially part of a temporary exhibition at the Cheltenham Museum & Art Gallery, the incredible response from the public had then fuelled a campaign to retain one of Ryders sculptures.

Ever since I had first seen it as a child, it has maintained its place as my favourite art installation- not just because of its strangeness, or because of nostalgia, but because of its connection with the community. It had nearly been removed a few years ago, but many residents of Cheltenham fought to keep it where it was, and since then I have come to see this statue as a symbol of this towns love and appreciation for art- no matter how strange it may be.

Why

There are a few key reasons why I want to design. The first being that in the past, design has allowed me an incredible way to express myself. Art and design has allowed me the chance to expand and develop upon my thoughts, ideas and values, in turn it has allowed me to develop on my identity- to understand what it is that makes me me.

Design has also encouraged me to open my eyes to the unique and sometimes minute beauty of this world. Michael Wolff had talked about how curiosity and appreciation can add fuel to your imagination, and so I have made it my mission within my art projects to research, to observe, and to truly appreciate what it is I see.

And lastly, design has given me the incredible ability to engage, inform and entertain many different demographic- it has allowed me to do my absolute favourite thing in the world; tell stories. And I hope to someday utilise my knowledge and abilities to create content that can speak volumes.

Development

After contemplating my answers to each of these questions and delving into some of my inspirations, I decided to draw up a basic sketch of my final piece.

The plan was to utilise my illustrative skills to draw out each image and so I had decided to draw each image individually and then piece them together at that end. In utilising the same colour palettes, textures and illustrative styles- the idea was to make sure they all connected with each other (sort of like a storyboard).

Who- Using the same colour palette as ‘Life Aquatic’, and utilising a similar composition style, I decided to draw me in the centre of the piece surrounded by nature and the sun.

What- For this piece, I decided to recreate my Edwardian bedroom set design- including both the bed, the wallpaper and flooring that I had used in the finished set.

Where- I decided to draw the heads of the Hare and Minotaur statue as a way to celebrate the creative, odd yet community-driven town that I currently live in.

Why- For the final piece, I decided to cut and paste parts of my face from the first picture and add frames over the top of it; to elaborate on the fact that each piece I create is a part of who I am.

Final Piece

Reflection

Overall, I really like how it came out. For one, I really like how vibrant the colours are, I like how the different textures came out, and in general, I really think that I’ve managed to answer each question fairly well.

If I were to do this again, I would include some more elements within the first piece as there is more to me than what that image depicts. Like my love for horror films, my Italian and Ukranian background, and my spirtual beliefs (although the piece did sort of resemble that of a tarot card).

All in all, I really enjoyed this challenge and thought it was the perfect way to celebrate the start of this MA course.