Conflict – Absolute Silence Leads To Sadness

Tags

conflict, design, editorial, graphic, lecture, letterpress, lincoln, magazine, music, sam, TED, thisisthesam, university, weston

What is conflict?

Well the answer is: A state of open, often prolonged fighting; a battle or war.

When briefed we were ask to create two outcomes for the topic conflict. A printed piece and either a ambient/virtual media outcome. When choosing which topic to do my piece on, I looked at several topics which I take an interest in or have an opinion on, things such as science and religion, foxhunting, racism and musical conflict. After delving deeper into the subject matter of each, I wanted to make my work more personal to me. This is why I chose a subject which I am very passionate about… Music.

My conflict was to give music up as part of my lent. This basically stopped me from socialising with friends, going into several shops or going pretty much anywhere. While keeping my actions and thoughts through the medium of a diary, I then evolved the content into a small editorial, which reflects my personal journey through the piece.

Throughout the diary, you can see how I personally struggled with the fact that I couldn’t listen to music. Inside the book there are humorous quotes, emotional entries and tips which other readers can use to stop them from giving in. The book is very personal to me to which I show and explain how passionate I am about music. As the book progresses, the pages move from black and white into colour which symbolises that music is entering my life again and I eventually end my lent.

The book is entitled ‘Absolute silence leads to sadness’ and is 64 pages long. The book contains personal items of mine, information about music and how the days progress. The book contains mixed media, ranging from letterpress, vectored images, scans from vintage music magazines and personal photographs. The book is thread bound and below are some of my favourite spreads and shots:-

If you are interested in seeing more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

On part two of the project, I wanted to try something a little different and be quite original and this was in the movement of a lecture. After watching many TED lectures, I decided to attempt and do my own TED lecture about the above diary and the conflict of music. The aim was to question what music means to people, how it can affect people and psychologically and scientifically it can help and be appreciated in life.

Below are two videos, video one is a trailer featuring certain parts and aspects of the talk (best bits!). If you are interested and want to watch the whole thing, please watch the second video. Please feel free to watch and give feedback or even add your own opinion on what music means to you!

All feedback is welcomed!

Thanks,

SW

Data Visualisation

Tags

coal, data, design, graphic, infographics, information, lincoln, posters, sam, thisisthesam, twitter, university, weston

Hello there!

Its been a while! So I will start off by apologising! Just to refresh everyones memories! Earlier in March, I was exploring and experimenting with several ranges and types of graphs which I blogged about here: part one, part two and part three…

Since part three we were asked to create two A1 poster visualisations with two sets of data. One piece of data had to be collected by us personally whereas the other source was a range of energy consumption data which was given to us. It was our decision to pick and choose from several data to which we could create a graph, so handling data was a great skill learnt throughout the brief.

The first visualisation was personal data collected from my own personal twitter account. The information was collected over the space of a month by recording such factors as character count, emotion, interaction and subject. 298 tweets later, below is my visualisation entitled ‘All work and no play’

Within the circle which represents my month of twitter use, I have allowed and visualised many factors and features:-

• Along the arc of the circle, every black line represents a day which within each day is 24 small strokes representing time.
• Thin coloured bars represent one tweet. (Colour coded to subject matter)
• Each dotted circle represents 10 characters. (Last dotted circle represents 140 characters)
• Within the circle is each days results regarding how many followers, favourites, retweets and new followers I have gained.
• Thin black line going around represents emotion level (Sad inside > Happy outside)

Towards the end I have broken down the relevant information into several parts which can be seen in my beauty shots. I have explored and represented the average tweet count for each day in the week which resulted in me tweeting most on a Saturday.

I have also created two pie charts which represent the percentage of how I use twitter and the location in which I tweet. It became apparent that I seem to socialise and tweet about work the most whereas current affairs was the lowest of tweet subjects. Over the month in which I collected information my hometown came up on top out of tweet locations with the library taking last place!

I wanted the piece to be engaging visually but still simply communicate the information and I feel I have achieved this. Once the months circle was complete the bars with their different colour code promoted a lovely visual style which intrigues and interacts with the viewer. Each bar can be identified using the key which allows viewer to easily interact with the piece. It’s also interesting to see how much I’ve tweeted compared to the days conclusion of followers, retweets, favourites and followers!

The second visualisation focuses on the fall in coal usage in the UK. This information is supported by several events which influenced and effected the coal production totals. Events such as the mining strikes, union strikes and the government closing down the mines. The graph explores and represents the production, stocks, change in the coal industry and how it has fluctuated over the last forty years. The piece below is entitled ‘Oh Coal, where art thou?’

Within the graph which represents the UK’s coal production and stocks, I have allowed and visualised many factors and features:-

• The above bar graph represents deep mined, surface mined, imports and exports.
• The below graph shows the distributed and undistributed stock levels after the year has ended. (The red rectangle is the original production total to show difference)
• The white nodes coming off several years explain and explore the reason behind the unusual production levels.

I wanted to explain why Coal had decreased rapidly in certain years over the period of forty years and this was due to key events in UK history. As you can see, I have chosen and explained four prolific events which had a major effect on production and stock totals of coal.

To break this down into more accessible chunks of information I decided to create pie charts to represent the above information in sets of ten years. As the decades progress, you can see the major fluctuation more easily especially between 1980 and 1990. This can be explained by the closure of mines and the strike also.

Even though imports and exports had no influence or part of the production totals, I still felt that the information was important so I decided to use them within my info graphic. Rather than both sets of data becoming part of the bar charts, I changed the data visually to become black and white lines to show the total but without influencing the bar charts.

I feel that with the addition of the information at the top of the bar chart graph it allows the viewer to understand how and why the Coal fluctuation did change and how the UK coal mining industry has changed rapidly over the years. Due to the subject matter, I have used a colour palette which boldly shows change and difference in totals but also makes the piece engaging and interesting.

Here are both visual posters in situe:-

All feedback is welcomed!

Thanks,

SW

YCN 2012 Submission

Tags

design, film, graphic, lincoln, redubbing, sam, thisisthesam, university, weston, ycn, youtube

Hello there,

I can finally share my YCN submission with you all as the deadline has just been reached! The project was set by the Industry Trust who were trying to find a new and original way which would inspire the British public to respect copyright.  Rather than the creative output being negative, they wanted a pro copyright message which celebrates film and its creative process.

The target audience was aimed at young males, ages 16-25, which research has shown to be the most prolific downloaders. It needed to celebrate film and let the public know that without them, the films simply wouldn’t be the same. This is my campaign which I created entitled ‘You Know the Words’

‘You Know the Words’ campaign is based around the idea of taking iconic moments in film or scenes and giving them a slight twist to make them generally worse, with comic effect. This works with the underlying message that without your support, the films we love and enjoy today simply would not be as good. The videos have been altered through voice, and quote changes or the way the scene progresses.

When visiting the cinema and buying a ticket to see a film, you would receive an additional ticket stub which follows the theme of ‘You Know the Words’ video outlets. Each ticket stub represents an iconic film and the quote has been changed to confuse and intrigue the customer. On the reverse of the ticket, each shows and explains how you the customer is helping the film industry, whether it is celebrating the acting ability or even the costume designer, promoting smaller and lesser known film roles.

Another application within the ‘You Know the Words’ campaign is the introduction of QR codes in and around the cinema environment. Each QR code has a misused quote towards the bottom with simple instructions to scan the code. The code instantly takes you to the official ‘You Know the Words’ youtube channel where users can watch and stream the videos for free and learn more about the campaign.

When the QR are codes are placed within the cinema environment, it allows the customer to interact with the campaign which creates a fun and exciting environment. The QR codes have been appropriately placed according to the phrase or quote which is being promoted. For example, in the cinema car park ‘See you later’ is present in pastiche to Terminator’s ‘I’ll be back’; and some innuendo fun with ‘Say hello to my big friend’ in the urinals, in pastiche to Scarface’s iconic quote.

If the customer wants to find out more about the campaign, the applications seen above send the user to the Industry Trust website. The website would contain an article on the campaign, explaining the messages it promotes and how the customer can help even more. The website would also allow the option to download an game application for all smartphones which runs alongside the ‘You Know the Words’ campaign.

Each time the audience enters or visits the website, the home page article promoting and advertising the new game application would change. By using the ticket stubs as visuals for the advert, it is easily recognisable and the user can instantly connect with the campaign as they have already received one of the tickets. Each advert explains differently why the application is worth downloading and the features which in within the game, promoting its the campaigns message once more.

The ‘You Know the Words’ application allows the user and film lovers the option to redub their own classic film scene like the videos originally in the campaign. The possibilities are endless with the user being able to freely change voices, record their own sounds or even trim the film.

The application has a wide range of film scenes to select from and each month the films would change to keep the application updated. As seen, the game takes the spirit of the cinema as the game is set on the big screen which users can use several hand gestures to choose and edit their own film. The aim of the game is to create a video which shows that without film lovers and film payers support the films would lack quality. The user can also share their clip through email and social networking, spreading the message further.

The application has competition elements within the game which allows users to upload their own clip to the Industry Trust’s leaderboard. This is done through a voting scheme on one of the applications home page buttons. All users compete and challenge one another to create the most memorable clip. Users can vote and watch each other’s clips, resulting at the end of every month, the months leaders would receive prizes such as free cinema tickets, premiere tickets or even have their own video shown during the trailers for the campaign.

There we have it, thats ‘You Know the Words’! I am really pleased with the final outcome of the project, it was a very exciting brief which entailed many creative directions and routes. All feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks!

SW

ISTD 2012 Winner

Tags

design, graphic, ISTD, lincoln, sam, thisisthesam, type, typography, university, wall piece, weston

*Awarded membership of the international society of typographic designers (ISTD) following the 2012 student assessment. Pass level awarded.

The International Society of Typographic Designers, ISTD, is a professional body run by and for typographers, graphic designers and educators. As the name suggests, the Society has an international membership, all of whom share its mission to establish and maintain standards of typography and to provide a forum for debate.

When receiving the ISTD project pack from our tutors, it was split into several briefs which we could personally choose and select from. The brief which I selected was entitled ‘It happened on this day’. The aim of the brief was to evoke an emotion and explain what happened on the particular day. As you can imagine, choosing a day was very difficult due to the subject matter and wanting to be original, so selection was crucial.

Research into a specific and significant date on which I could base this work, established that on the 25th of February 1991, 28 soldiers lost their lives in the Persian Gulf War from a missile blast; this occurred one hour after my own birth. This was such a prolific event that coincided with my birthday that I felt emotionally attached to it; whilst the contrast between life and death seemed poignant, it also offered the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the soldiers and what they fought for.

After researching both events in detail, it became apparent that the soldiers only died due to a bug inside one of the missile interceptors; which made the deaths even more preventable. Alongside this I spoke to my parents about their individual experiences of my birth and how the day unfolded from their points of view.

What makes someone remember something important? Perhaps it is how something touches or affects us or leaves a lasting impression? These were the issues that I tried to address when faced with creating a typographic piece that would evoke emotion and have a long-standing impact on a viewer, here is my response to the brief:-

The use of layered type and the varying scales suggests the important and key moments within the day. This can be seen especially within the ‘Incoming’ section representing the missile being wrongly intercepted, thus causing death. The use of combining texture with typography created a more humanist ambience to the piece rather than it being just a piece of computer art. Visual elements are kept to a minimum and support the typographic detailing.

I explored a range of formats that would enable the content to be brought to life. I wanted the piece to be ambitious and enable the viewer to engage with it. Rather than being a book or a poster, I felt an informational timeline would be appropriate. I researched into various aspects of informational mapping, which informed my design development.

The selection of type was an important one; due to the subject matter and wanting to clearly show the events in a clear manner. I chose Futura due to its geometric, efficient and dynamic form. This coincides with the fact that when it is set in italic, it accentuates movement, which works well with the missile content. I also chose the typeface Adobe Garamond Pro in order to reflect its clarity and legibility. It is also very subtle and has been utilised for the introduction and locations in the world. Lastly the typeface Prestige Elite Std Bold has been used for the body copy as a result of its documentation and war journal connotations that fit within the content and context.

Here is the piece in situe:-

The decision to use one timeline, but to separate the two incidents was so that the reader could compare and contrast the differences of life and death; it also allows the stories to be read either in tandem or in isolation.

I explored a range of formats that would enable the content to be brought to life. I wanted the piece to be ambitious and enable the viewer to engage with it. Rather than being a book or a poster, I felt an informational timeline would be appropriate.

I wanted the piece to celebrate life and how precious it is. The scale of the wall graphic enables the events of the day to be brought to life, the intention was to show how the day unfolded by using type to show the drama and emotion of the day alongside factual information. The piece also aims to remember and honour the 28 American soldiers who died as this was a little known event and the actual incident caused more combat casualties than any other in ‘Operation Desert Storm’ Along with this, I feel that my final piece shows and inform the readers of what actually happened and why, in honour of them.

Thanks,

Sam

Data Data Data pt.3

Tags

data, design, graphic, infographics, information, lincoln, sam, thisisthesam, university, weston

Hi there!

After last weeks lecture which concentrated on spatial data, we were set a task to create three graphs. The data was personally collected by me from the internet, to which I designed and created three graphs.

This was the last tutorial in the project brief and it was very interesting to learn and explore how maps can be engaging yet provide a clear understanding. We have now been fully briefed, which will be progressed by using our new knowledge and skills to create two informational mapping pieces.

Here are the three spatial graphs created for todays lecture which showcases three individual date collections ranging from murder rates in America, Gas usage in the United Kingdom and a walk to my local supermarket in my hometown:

So the brief begins now! I’m very excited to see what will be produced over the next few weeks and I can’t wait to put my new skills into action.

Next week will see two blogs being posted, one being the ISTD which I’m very excited about sharing with you all!

Bye for now!

Sam

D&AD Baby Pencils 2012 Submission

Tags

circle, D&AD, design, editorial, graphic, lincoln, sam, thisisthesam, typographic, university, weston

Hello!

Finally, one of the projects deadlines have been reached and submitted which means I can finally share what I have been upto! The D&AD brief set by our tutors was to create a supplement which would be published throughout the year until the organisations annual ‘Circular’ publication was released. The supplement had to be part of a series, so certain aspects of the publication had to be designed in such a way which could edited with ease.

The typographic circle is an not-for-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers for people who are interested in type and typography. They stage a variety of type and typography related events including a series of monthly lectures by well-known industry speakers. Previous speakers have included Trevor Beattie, Stefan Sagmeister, Carlos Segura and Jonathan Barnbrook.

The task was to choose three speakers who have/will be talking for one of the planned events planned by the typographic circle and each supplement would be based around one of the designers. It was an interesting brief too as the supplement couldn’t be an pastiche of the designer.

I decided that my supplements would be published each seasonal term and would be packaged together in a set of three, which would result in 12 a year, one for each month.

This is how the supplements would be packaged together in a black on black printed bellyband to keep the design tightly packed which allows the publication to be sent in a thin envelope which is cost effect and environmentally friendly. I wanted the cover to be simple and minimal, but easy to change as the publication would be running throughout the year:

 

Here are my three supplements with accompanied beauty shots:

The first supplement is the February edition which is based on Jonathan Barnbrook. As you can see rather the publication being a pastiche of Barnbrooks work, it is a personal styling which could be easily part of a series.

The second publication is the March edition which concentrates on Airside, coinciding with the studio closing down, I thought it would be quite fit to choose this month. As you can see within each month the colour palette and layout changes, giving each read an original and exciting read.

The last supplement of the first pack would be the April edition which studies Trevor Beattie. Again the colour palette changes and within each design, the ending poster changes and the space allows the quotes to move around, so each read isn’t predictable.

Lastly, these are a range of beauty shots to stage how the actual supplement would be read, as you can see its very engaging and makes the reader feel part of the publication. The great feature of this supplement would be that you can read the content on any page and the content still flows freely, allowing the reader to keep engaging with the piece: 

Concluding, I am very pleased with the final result of the supplements which I have created. I have produced a series of supplements which are original and different from the supplement market and this is due to the format choice. I feel that the design is simple yet engaging due to the usage of colour and grid structure.

Thanks,

Sam

Data Data Data pt.2

Tags

data, design, graphic, infographics, information, lincoln, sam, thisisthesam, university, weston

Hello!

Recently, we have been learning the basics and all types of informational mapping, which has become very interesting as I didn’t know there was that many! Here are some of my own mapping through the initial stages of the project, to learn and explore. The first part can be read here

The second week concentrated on relational data, to which I have created my own design process graph which shows how I work throughout a six week project. I really like this and even printed an extra one to place in my room!

This is entitled The Weston Process (not egotistical I promise!)

Today we learn about spatial data which will conicide with another little task, so I will blog next week about what I have created next week!

Have a lovely day,

Sam

Data Data Data, Conflict!?

Tags

data, design, graphic, infographics, information, lincoln, sam, thisisthesam, university, weston

Hello there,

Things have been busy as of late, we have now been briefed on the last two projects of the second year and the end of the tunnel is near. This year has flew and soon to be, we will be third years. Scary thoughts, but exciting and interesting of how things will plan out at my time at university.

Even though I still can’t share what I’ve done for some of the competition briefs (I just want to upload them now!), I thought I’d update you on what we’re currently working on. We have two briefs, one of the subject of conflict, where we need to produce work which challenges, celebrates or captivates the subject. I have chosen to give music up, as I’m very passionate about the matter and lets just say I struggled! This also became a personal conflict which would coincide with the brief. The other brief is to create informational mapping pieces, which will be two final pieces at deadline, one will be our own collated data whereas the other one will be given to us towards the end.

Recently, we have been learning the basics and all types of informational mapping, which has become very interesting as I didn’t know there was that many! Here are some of my own mapping through the initial stages of the project, to learn and explore.

The first week was based on quantitative data, which led on to creating seven types of quantitative graphs.

Next week we learn about relational data, which I will then blog about what I have created for the lecture!

Until then,

Sam

Why I’ve Been Very Quiet And Some More Photos…

Tags

design, graphic, instagram, iphoneography, photography, photos, sam, thisisthesam, university, weston

Hello there!

As of late, its become very apparent that all I blog about is instagram pictures which I have taken out and about on my travels! Apart from actually adding more photos this post, I wanted to share and explain why I have been so quiet blogging about my design work.

Since the last project that I blogged about, being the Limited Edition brief, I have been working on many competition briefs. Due to house rules at the University of Lincoln and competition etiquette, I can’t really share with you all what I have designed until the submission has been entered and the competition deadline has ended.

I have/will be entering three competition briefs, being YCN, D&AD and the ISTD award which will be uploaded very soon here. They involve film piracy, editorial design and a informational timeline of a certain date.

Since my last blog entry I have been to London for the day with a few friends. It was really great to get away for the day and gain some creative spark, which led me back into the creative process filled with more ideas and influences. During the visit we went to the lovely Magma book shop, YCN’s creative shop, artwords and cass arts. We even had time for a quick visit to the history museum in which I saw my first dinosaur! It really was a great day in which I will blog very soon about!

Until then, its pictures for now!

SW

iphoneography jan ’12

Tags

graphic design, instagram, iphoneography, lincoln, photography, sam, thisisthesam, weston

Keeping a promise to myself to regularly update my iphoneography blog posts, this is the january edition! Enjoy!

SW