Vicky Patoulioti Illustration and Visual Media After my first attempt with poster design this year I decided to invest into more exploration and experimentation of the medium. Two books that I found particularly interesting that also influenced my way of thinking are: «Angura: poster of the Japanese avant-garde» by David G. Goodman and «New Poster art» by the authors Cees de Jong, Stefanie burger and Jorre Both. In a first glance the two books seem to convey two very different approaches on poster design. The first documents posters created for experimental Japanese theatre groups during the early 1960s and 70s as well as how their style inspired other countries, while the second showcases information and examples of the last decades of the 20th century’s poster art around the world. What striked me the most about the posters of the first book is that they use lots of written information and a large variety of typographical elements which are placed vertically or horizontally or sometimes both ways on the same poster. They are placed in such way as to interact with the image and become part of the composition. It becomes clear that the composition would not work without the text. These posters are extremely detailed and it takes lots of effort to read them, understand the image and text and as a result the reason why they were made. Even though they consist of such a large variety of elements, the posters are crowded but not stuffed as it sometimes might happen. The compositions breathe easily which is attained by the skilful placement of the forms inside the poster , the «negative» space between them as well as the clever use of colour. The second book «New Poster Art» showcases a different approach on poster design. First of all, Goodman implies that there was an era before the one he describes during which «it was important to show which product or event the poster was intended to promote, by means of clear typography, simple design and plain colour use». At this point I would like to stress out my thoughts on this approach. I believe that you can interpret it in two ways and come across two different outcomes. These outcomes is possible that they have existed together given that the writer is talking about the late 20th century’s art world. On one hand it is possible that it «forced» designers to create efficient simplicity and clarity in their artworks which is a highly challenging but very rewarding task and as a result led to the development of new art forms. On the other hand, by imposing these very specific rules it might have served as an obstacle to the expression of individuality and therefore the development of poster art and art in general. Looking back at the writers statement, it feels like the advertisement and general appeal of the product or event was the main concern of the designer. This attitude is very likely to have had encouraged extreme commercialisation which is inextricably interconnected with excessive consumerism. Goodman carries on by stating that «Nowadays, it is essential to evoke a certain atmosphere and create a unique world to attract the public’s attention». The posters of the latest decades of the 20th cen. don’t follow clear trends and emotional impact is the main criterion for judging the quality of a poster design. «The poster has now become a test of artistic skill rather than an advertisement. For designers the concept can simply be an excuse for conceptual and visual experimentation». «More than ever, it has become a medium for designers seeking the limits of their autonomy in order to demonstrate their artistic talents, release valves for the need to allow personal expression to dominate over the competing marketing principles of commercial industry». The two books seem to convey two different approaches on poster art. However, they are no different at all. It is clear that both styles follow the same design principles. Both styles rely on emotional impact through interaction between text and image, background and foreground, colour and form. It seems that the term «New Poster Art» can be applied to any new poster design movement that has challenged and replaced the one before it. It is the development of the same, preexisting principles that evolve along with society in order to meet its constantly changing needs. Being familiar with art and design history and their fundamental values is vital to developing current styles as well as creating new ones. Knowing these, you can adapt to any transformations that you are most likely to face as an artist or designer in the future as the principles remain the same. Considering that, would it be useful if our education system was to introduce those principles and theory to our curriculum? How would that change the future of art and design? Would it slower down its progress or would it create new potential and possibly chances for a better understanding of our practice?
0 Comments
As we are experience this pandemic in solidarity. As we all choose to stay indoors and protect our loves ones, we can unanimously agree that the disruption of our routine is universal. This has triggered certain questions, 'Why have don't we have a contingency plan?', 'Should we have expected something of this sort?', 'Do you think we will recover from this?'. To stray away from negative thoughts and endless 'what ifs' I decided to look at this in a different light. Working with Modual Catalyst made me explore a solution driven way of thinking rather than adopting a dissentient approach. Having realised that there are only a few things under my control, making the most of this workshop will only help me stay out of a slump. I am sure that I am not the only one afraid of falling off routine and slipping into a sedentary lifestyle! I give credit to Modual for pumping energy into each one of the participants and giving us a great start to the lockdown.
The first time I participated in a Modual workshop, it was in partnership with Kickstarter and Glasgow School of Art. Our challenge was to design a solution to a problem and crowdfund for the idea! It was one of most active and hands-on experience, Modual approaches their workshop as a design sprint whilst simultaneously teaching the participants about design thinking and the double diamond approach. The Modual team was incredibly skilled and moderated the design process, giving the participants enough confidence to put the projects up for crowdfunding on Kickstarter. For Modual Catalyst, the challenge was to reimagine the future of arts education. This workshop was for UAL staff in collaboration with UAL students, the students worked as the moderators as well as participants. Modual is great for networking with industry experts as well as meeting likeminded students from UAL. Modual Catalyst was very adventitious as we collaborated with UAL staff and worked alongside them without any hierarchies being imposed, this helped in breaking the boundaries we abide by when in a traditional student-tutor relationship at university. I will always cherish this experience with Modual, it has given me valuable insight into the education industry and the real impact tutors and educators have. We came up with the concept of an online learning platform that consists of art and design lectures, live streams and educational content available globally. Since UAL is a reputed university, our vision was to bring the arts education to the remotest parts of the world by using technology to our advantage. With special focus on differently abled people and people with access issues, whether that is monetary or geographical. Bringing arts education online can be highly beneficial, especially in our current scenario where organisations are having to pivot and adapt to the circumstances. Yet we believe that there are some challenges that will need more focus, we hope to have an innovation team that will design solutions to tackle certain challenges. During brainstorming, we came up with multiple speculative design solutions that incorporate creative use of existing technology. We explored the use of braille tablets, VR and Speech-Text softwares that would make the digital learning platform truly inclusive. As an international student, I am aware of the struggle and demand for a good arts education. We believe that UAL online learning will break stigmas and stereotypes that exist around arts education. In certain parts of the world, arts eduction is still feared to be an unrewarding career choice. To dismantle this ideology, adapting to the cultural norms in form of language and innovation can truly improve the reach arts education has. As I mentioned earlier, accessibility is at the core of our mission. With the use of AI and other progressive tech, we see the potential to introduce multiple languages which include sign, braille and other forms of language that do not exclude anyone. We believe that UAL is not addressing accessibility issues when they have the right resources to, we have reached a position where if UAL online learning was established prior to the pandemic, the changes would not have to be discordant and problematic. We hope to turn this into a reality as we get ready to apply for funding. I had the opportunity to work with SDFF 2019 as a content manager for their digital stage platform. The Digital Stage is a platform that truly embraces the 'Fringe' aspect of the festival. A platform that engages firms, designers, students and initiates conversations around the problems we face collectively as a society. Sharing useful approaches, toolkits and discussions with the wider audience powered by the service design community. Since I have been considering studying Service Design in the near future it was a great opportunity that granted me insight and exposure to the leading industry professionals. Design in times of uncertainty SDFF is taking being fringe seriously. Posing us with the question, How do we design in times of uncertainty? The participating organisations included Humanly, Ey Seren, The Design Council, SNOOK and many more organisations. The two-day festival was a crash course in service design thinking, discussing the ongoing design solutions to some of the wicked problems we encounter. With great emphasis on the climate, technology and culture the diverse range of talks and workshops were critical in understanding a service designers role in the future economies. Driving the climate conversation 'Waste is design gone wrong', this statement is simple yet truthful, I was able to envision a future where the scope of innovation was wide and it was a solution-driven society. Unfortunately, I had to leave my utopian dream aside and return to the current issues that we face as a society. The conversations around the circular economy and its implications have become foggy. Humanly revives it as a creative challenge for which everyone can design solutions for, provoking innovation. This talk encouraged me to further look into the potential of bio-materials and how our food waste can be designed using circular economy methodology to add value to the environment, economy and society. ExperienceThis experience allowed me to understand the reach that a festival can have, it was inspiring to see diverse and determined people who turned the festival into a huge success. Service Design Fringe Festival was able to make it highly inclusive and insightful. While a lot of other design festivals tend to overlook differently abled audiences, SDFF had included organisations that work towards designing experiences and products aimed at a diverse audience. It translated into content management and curation of the blogs allowed me to gain experience in content editing. Working with the team was valuable as I experienced the process first hand and was included in decision making. One of my favourite talks was by Method, a global logic company. Talking about the future of food, how we can expect it to change rapidly. Looking at our consumption rate and the direct influence of technology, we will soon be eliminating large exports of food from all over the world. With the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, seasonal food can be expected to grow in your basement. We have been kept in the dark about the true cost of food, this is the referring to the carbon emissions caused by the endless transport of food revealing the holistic cost of eating mangoes in the London winter. After the transparent cost reading, the audience was immediately inclined towards considering their consumption habits more thoroughly. The quote below encapsulates the vision Method has for the future of food systems, using speculative design to derive the potential of food futures and the changes in our consumption habits. "Questions about the resilience of our food sources open up critical areas of innovative exploration" Method is asking, “How can design thinking and applied technology find a solution?” Charlene De La Cruz Illustration and Visual Media Since the world has stopped moving, the creative industry has turned virtual. I know that it is quite a bold statement, but I think that the creative industry has somewhat kept the world entertained during this current Pandemic crisis. However, many elements of the creative industry have been positively and negatively affected during this time. I think that there is so much controversy with Arts Schools as “Online Art School is not Art School”. Art students are having to use limited resources and Final year students are not able to do their best on their Final Major Project and Degree Show. I think that Art school students have been severely affected as they are extremely limited in what they can do due to closed workshops and it is unfair on the students. I think that they should be compensated in some way as Artists are very expressive in work and obviously, in this circumstance, they are very trapped. However, having said that, many corporations are offering online courses and classes to help people have opportunities to learn something new especially with the time we have. This is beneficial for Analogue Artists as they could improve their skills digitally if they wanted to explore a different way of working. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/banksy-coronavirus-social-distancing-1202684321/ The Creative Industry has been positively affected by this current situation as Artists have been producing work on the situation. This has given artists a motive and they are responding with standout Art Projects. “Artists have been forced to come up with new and creative ways to engage with the public. Many names like Banksy, Damien Hirst, and Ai Weiwei have taken to Instagram to give their followers a glimpse into how they’re handling the pandemic”. These Street Art influencers have inspired likewise Artists to do the same and make work influenced by this Pandemic. I have noticed through Social Media and talking to peers that people have been overthinking a lot during self- isolation. Some peoples Mental Health have been badly affected by this self-isolation period as they feel alone and a lot of people, like myself, depend on friends and family around them for support. However, I think that the world has come together so well that people have not been feeling so alone by Video calls and staying in touch with loved ones. There are many campaigns that have been trying to support the public such as #Alone Together. I find it amazingly crazy how the whole world has come together to support one another. I have been reading Researching Your Own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing which is a book by John Mason. This has made me reflect as a practitioner and someone who is not particularly good at reflecting on themselves on a regular basis. The book is about how we can turn “noticing” into a way of professional development through approaching it differently. This could also be used as a form of research and especially “researching yourself”. Researching yourself has been a major element of self-isolation in this Pandemic. We are all having to develop our own practices whether it is Art or Personal and think of “ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your professional practice” especially in this current Pandemic Crisis. I think that the Discipline of Noticing is truly relevant to the current situation and I think many people are going through it. There are methods in which enhances the sensitivity to notice opportunities that can be freshly acted on in the future. There was a phrase in the book that stuck out for me which was “At the heart of all practices lies noticing: noticing an opportunity to act appropriately”. This stuck with me as it is something I have been going through lately as I have had time to reflect on my future opportunities. Everyone is having to adapt and starting to notice elements and opportunities in life that we have been taking advantage of before Quarantine and how we can reflect and change in the future when we are no longer in Lockdown. I have been using this current situation as a time to catch up on work. I have unfinished projects I have always wanted to develop and as most of them are digital, I am taking this opportunity to finish them. This is also leading me into developing on skills I have always wanted to have such as experimenting with different Illustrative styles and seeing how I could fit my skills into one niche style. During this self-isolation period, I have had to become more independent as I have been working from home. It has been a struggle to balance home and work life as there are many distractions. I am a type of worker that normally gets more work done at a library or university, however, I am starting to get used to the routine of being productive at home. This has made me more responsible with time and has improved my work ethic. I have also realised that this is helping me improve my skills of being a freelancer as this might be my new creative environment in the future when I have briefs that I need to do from home. I think that having limited resources for physical work and having to be more creative with what I have at home has been one way my current practice has adapted to a new creative environment. I have been doing a lot of experiments with household objects in between reflecting on recent projects through blogs and I find it refreshing when I just experiment without having a pressure of making something good. I also have been using the Opportunities that many establishments have been offering some Online Courses which I think is key to keeping motivated during this difficult time. I want to learn about software and editing videos as I am always trying to find a way of broadening some projects and outcomes as I am competing with people with amazing talent and skills.
Homan Cheung
Graphic and Media Design Throughout the time spent in the industry, I have exposed myself to various working environments and participated in different design practice each with its unique ways of working. Summarising all the working experience, many of them do not require much advance technical skills such as 3D modeling and animation software operating, which is unexpected. I wonder if I have been wrong in acting on the premise that hiring a skilful designer is what the industry generally needs. During my studies in the course, I believed that having the skills for crafting and making are the most essential priority for designers. As I observed other’s work, participating in group discussions and collaborations, I noticed a phenomenon that many students were creative and innovative in mind yet were unable to comprehensively visualize their concepts. Many works I looked at puzzled me until I got to know read the descriptions or talked to the desingers. Such a situation is very common for us as we are just getting started to learn more. But still, under the comparison of the work from those who already have a good foundation of skills, lacking the competence to demonstrate ideas relevantly might appear to be less preferred and unpleasant, not to mention lacking the skill might also hinder our creativity as our imagination is limited by our knowledge. Being influenced by the Asian culture, I heavily focused on skills as I was taught to genuinely follow very straight guidelines and requirements. Independent thinking and exploration were never be in top priority. In the early period my attitude toward my assignments was very straight forward. The way I handled my assignments back then was simply go on Pinterest and search for something cool, decomposed the design elements and put them into my work. Very few briefing or analysing was involved. Such “fast and efficient” ways of working did help me reached a desirable grade and consequently proved how skills should play the predominant role of my working style. Still, things started to change after a few working placements halfway through my diploma in professional studies. I started to question if the need for having a broad range of skills is really necessary. Before we continue, I would like to state that for sure having the right skill is important, or else how are you supposed to become a designer, right? The reason I have been thinking a lot about such questions is hugely linked with my experiences from the internships. During my time in various agencies, I recognised that very often the directors do not really have a full picture of the production state, they mainly focus on the result rather than the progress of how something is made. Sometimes I received suggestions on how to achieve a certain outputs but I simply knew there was another easier and less time-consuming way to achieve them, sometimes even better (they said that not me) as they can easily apply alternations with a few simple clicks. With no doubt, their artistic senses are professional and unique, but if you have to recreate them it will not be a difficult task; my experiences in the agencies have validated such states. “Without an advance skillsets for productions, what makes clients still knock on their doors?” I could not help but think about this. As I proceed further in trying to find the answer, I read a few articles and magazines; all share a similar point that people love a specific company is because their image, their style, not solely because their skill of demonstration (of course it is still a key factor). My ideology of solely focusing on skills was being challenged, but I simply let it happened as I wish to figure out new ways of working and I always knew my style will eventually hinder me from going further. “As technology has reached its limit, it means the era of taste is coming.” Manabu Mizuno Lately, I have been reading a book by a famous Japanese brand designer Manabu Mizuno. In the book he talks about how having an exquisite taste for everything can contribute to a better outcome of our daily tasks, eventually a better company with an appreciable profit. In one chapter he illustrates how when a society is stabilising, people will naturally aim for goods with higher quality. When corporations have mastered the new technology they will start being creative, producing goods with a proper design quality. As I look at the design industry, many softwares such as Adobe Dimension and Blender is becoming user friendly, a sigh that the technology is reaching a new height of its accessibility. When everyone can easily produce outcomes at the same standard, having a unique and outstanding style or taste is what separates a junior and professional designer. I was struck by such new observations and learned how having a good taste in design actually benefits me for my future. I was blind by the ego of being sufficient with my skills ( is not that much actually) in the early period but forgot the most fundamental aspect; a good design taste and originality. The industry is constantly changing with trends and technology (our tool) is evolving at an unstoppable pace. Now being designer to me is not simply a maker but more of an observer, there are many things about me need to learn about outside the tutorials. As I become more capable with the tools, I should shift my focus on enhancing my sensibility towards my surroundings. Having a good sense should be as equivalent to having a strong skill set. Steeping into the industry allows me to appreciate the diversification of different talents, and I am grateful that how my shortage is exposed and made me fix it while I still have the time. Aidan McCormack - Illustration and Visual Media Completing an Internship as a Studio Assistant with multi-disciplinary artist Lauren Baker I found myself involved in installation-based work for a range of projects. One of our main focuses was for a sculpture called “Frequency Of The Sun” Which was being showcased at the Asimuth Music Festival in Al Ula Desert of Saudi Arabia. Developing Laurens sketches into a Digital 3D mock up ready for the production was an important step and entering this internship with little 3D modelling experience I feel I have been pushed to improve my skills in which in which I have also been able to transfer into my personal work. Seeing the sculpture end up in the desert of Al Ula, Saudi Arabia felt like a great success, and was luckily shown just before the lock down had been put in place. Although this was a success we had other projects which had undergone a similar process and were to be shown later on this year which have now been cancelled due to the current pandemic. For example we had a sculpture and a stage design project being shown at Glastonbury 2020 which has now been cancelled. With my interest for music based design this was a disappointment but is something I would like to do in the future. Although this pandemic caused disruptions within the teams plans and site specific projects it’s made me realise the importance of how to react and resolve problems by continuing to be creative in different ways. This time away from the commission based work has positively influenced aspects of my creation. I felt that a constant influx of commissions and fast paced turn arounds for briefs can sometimes blur your vision and creativity as an artist, so sometimes you need to take a step back and revisit your inspirations and purpose as a creative. The first installation-based project I helped work on at my internship called “An Open Dialogue With Nature” was a response to raise awareness of the ever-growing fires and deforestation problems we have been facing particularly within the amazon. Showcased at Saatchi Art’s, The Other Art Fair, Through donations it raised enough money to plant the goal of 8,888 trees in the Amazon. This really helped me envision an active example of how art can be used to respond to a current world crisis, and how although just an individual, you can use your art to create a voice a wider audience can relate to. In response I began making a digital artwork which could be sold to create donations for the NHS, relaying positivity away from the negativity of this pandemic. The following image shows the work in progress of my design which I am planning to make prints with, and maybe later print on t shirt when possible. “Precious Touch” I believe this pandemic has really reminded us as humans of the precious importance of touch and how it is an action that can usually be taken for granted, but we are now being reminded of how important these moments of contact really can be. I used the floating bubble, which once touched could be gone forever as a metaphor of how precious and delicate life can be. Maybe this print can be a reminder to cherish those moments of touch but also support the unity and hope we have created throughout this pandemic. I have found a productive way to spend my spare time throughout the pandemic is to check out the range of Virtual Exhibitions that are currently online due to all the scheduled shows being cancelled. Although not as immersive as an actual gallery visit I have still found myself inspired by a huge range of works and appreciative of the artist who still made sure there hard work could be seen even in its space despite this unfamiliar format. https://www.stolenspace.com/exhibitions/
An unexpected form of inspiration I took from these virtual experiences developed when my friend and musician GLOWE learnt that her shoot plans for upcoming music videos have been cancelled due to the pandemic. This therefore made me think of how I can overcome this problem. Prior to the pandemic I had completed a range of 3D Body scans of different individuals at university, inspired by the virtual gallery tours I am now going to use my spare time throughout lockdown to attempt to use these scans to create a virtual music video within cinema4D and Adobe After Affects. This will progress my practice as before I was creating static imagery based around the 3D scans (which I have shown below), using youtube I am now learning how to rig both a camera and the figures to move through these different environments, bringing them to life in a virtual world, which is an area Ive always wanted to progress in but have never done before. I believe this point explores the positivity the pandemic can provide as it forces forward thinking when it comes to resolving problems we have never faced before. I always had a weird relationship with failure. I knew that in order to get better I will need to make mistakes and bad decisions. Despite that, the idea of making mistakes or being rejected scared me to death. Let me share what I consider the biggest failure of my DPS year and how It tough me a lesson of appreciating failing.
When I started DPS among many goals I had for the upcoming year I wanted to do an internship abroad. I romanticized how great it must feel riding a bike to work by the canals of the great Netherland cities or how exhilarating the nigh-life must be in techno-driven clubs of Berlin. So, from the moment I finished my portfolio, I started applying for digital agencies abroad that were looking for UI/UX designers. In December I officially get a confirmation of a placement in a digital creative agency in Rotterdam. I am super excited and now I am planning my trip to Rotterdam, booking tickets, looking for a place to live. Fast forward to the end of January, I shove my life into one suitcase, say goodbye to my friends and leave for the airport. A week later, I am dragging my suitcase to the central station of Rotterdam and getting on a bus back to London. Yes, I am coming back to London for good. It feels surreal to believe that I just quit the internship and jeopardized all of my plans that I had for the rest of the DPS. I’m not going to get into why I quit but I will tell you how it felt and what I’ve learned from it. Let me say, that the first week after coming back I felt defeated and without any purpose left in life. I just quit an internship that I was looking forward to the last three months. It was my plan for the rest of the DPS to stay in the Netherlands. Honestly, I felt deeply ashamed and guilty. What am I suppose to say to all the people that were expecting me to do great? My parents? Tutors and everyone else? The only thing I can say looking back is that the only opinion that matters is yours. Believe me, all of your friends and family want the best for you and whatever you decide to do they will support you. Secondly, a week after coming back I decided that the mourning period is over and that I need to get out of the bed and move on. I started doing a side project and applying to other internships. Things were not moving as quickly as I wanted to but I decided to persevere. Soon enough I was doing freelance projects for a design agency, exploring new skills and investing more time in understanding what I want to do with the rest of the DPS. My point is that it is always hard to accept failure, things not going as you planned. But believe me, failing at something doesn’t mean you are worse. It means that you are a risk-taker and that you are one step closer to being a better version of yourself. Before coming to the university I wasn’t introduced much to the field of design. My background mostly consisted of art and music. In my mind design was about about making things nice and pretty. Boy, I was surprised to learn that it is much more than that. Only before I applied to the university I started thinking and understanding that design is much more than a nice visual presentation. It might be weird but the thing that surprised me the most about design was that design is not only about the visual presentation but about the way things work, the way people interact and experience is the real key to understanding design. For starters, I am studying Information & Interface Design at LCC. It means that we are thought about the area where technology and design fall into one place. From computer interfaces to interactive installations we are learning how to solve problems to create the best digital experiences for people. It took me a hot minute to understand that design is exactly about that experience part. Design can be applied to every aspect of our life. From designing a morning routine to optimizing a website for good performance. When I was reading “Design for everyday things” by Donald Norman one quote stuck in my head for a bit. Donald Norman writes in his book “Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating”. So, the key to the design is to understand your user, your audience and tailor your design to their needs. I believe the most surprising thing about design for me is that it can be applied to everything. Let me give you an example of how I designed my morning routine based on my needs. Yes, I designed my mourning routine. First I looked at the user(me) and figured out my needs. Having a basic persona I started designing the ways I could improve my daily morning routine. Let’s look at how the daily routine looked before;
09:00 Wake up 09:15 Have some oatmeal for breakfast 09:35 Get ready for work 09:45 Leave for work/start working One of the main goals stated in the user persona is that I want to wake up earlier but I'm having a hard time doing so. I calculated that to have extra time in the morning I need to wake up around 8. To have an 8 hours sleep I need to go to bed around midnight. So the morning routine actually starts a day before. Second thing is to figure out the best practices for stress reduction. I don’t like mundane routines so there must be different options for different activities. Let’s do some research. The most popular stress reduction methods according to google are:
Great. Now I need to figure out how I can incorporate these activities in the morning routine. Exercise I found an application called Nike Run Club that has guided runs. This might be a great option for a couple of days a week to do some exercise. Meditation I will use headspace for morning meditations. Journaling I bought a journal and found some prompts to help with writing the first entries. Let’s add all of this up. 23:30/45 go to sleep 08:00 wake up 08:10 Leave for a run/meditate/journal 08:50: have breakfast while catching up with some news. 09:20: Read a books or articles 09:35: Get ready for work Here you go, proof that design can be included in every day of your life! As an experiment, I will try to follow this routine for a couple of weeks and see how it goes! Diana Barta Illustration and Visual Media It seems more common for artist, designers and illustrators to have some experience with 3D software and use it within the workplace. Especially for smaller studios, they need people who are multidisciplinary and can create 2D and 3D work. The visuals are cleaner, it can be perceived as more professional by clients, and the options for lighting the models can greatly affect the tone and atmosphere for the brief. Not to mention you can reuse the models by creating different textures and angles. It seems to be the norm that a design agency, a digital agency should have projects completed in 3D and be able to take on those briefs by clients and companies. My experience so far is within the entertainment industry so it could be different in different areas of the design world, but I have found that being able to use 3D software is a big advantage when applying for work. It's also worth noting that 3D software can be used even if the final product isn't necessarily 3D. One skill that is I have noticed is very sought out is visualizing. If the majority of the team's skills are technical and don't have a way to visually present the ideas and projects, the outcome falls short. That is why they need someone to create images in whatever form suited for the project. This skill of visualizing can result in a 2D or 3D piece. However sometimes there is use for 3D softwares to create perfect squares, or building, or perspective and then use that as a foundation for a 2D image. Not to mention there are artists who create models and texture it in a way that makes it looks 2D no matter what angle you look at it. Concept art I made for a personal project where I used Maya to create the main objects, perspective and lighting. Then I painted over the screenshot in Photoshop. At my last internship at a game company, the team was small so my role spread beyond creating concept art and illustrations to helping with the game environment in Unity. Although I wasn't the one creating the 3D assets, it was my job to place them and create the 3D environment players would be navigating in. I have had experience with 3D softwares like Maya so it was easier for me to transfer to Unity, but since I was placing the assets I had to think differently. Such as taking into consideration what path players will take, and creating interesting and unique rock formations or asset combination that make the environment memorable and the players remember better the locations. Furthermore, I had to think of the environment overall, which isn't so different when creating environment concept art, but I have to look at the environment in a lot more angles than I am used to. Since I had to look at the location overall, the ground, grass and sky texture were as important as the assets created by the 3D modelers. It all had to come together and be of a similar cartoon style and have a nice color palette. I was able to experiment with the ground and grass texture to find what was best suitable for the environment and game style. Nonetheless, I noticed for games, it is ever evolving and nothing is set in stone, new assets are always created and switched out, thus there is always room for improvement or modification to keep up with the changing pace of video games. Screenshots of the environment I worked on during my internship. Triple O Games All Rights Reserved I have seen many design studios utilize this new age of 3D projects, and I was intended to start an internship at an animation and VFX studio, where I would have again been working in both 2D and 3D projects. Unfortunately, due to the virus I was never able to start. I now realize what a valuable asset it is to have experience and be able to work with 3D software in the entertainment industry, even for artists. So far this year, I have come to recognize that I prefer to work on environments rather than characters, and for a while I will focus more on environments, especially when considering my future career. That isn't to say I won't continue with character design, but I will prioritize environment design. Of course, I will try to incorporate even more 3D design into my practice, starting with a self-initiated project with my brother. We are in the process of developing a video game and creating somewhat of a minimal viable product. This way I can incorporate interests in concept art, environment and character design, and 3D modeling. It is a way to expand and test my skills and create something that will be interactable rather than just a design you can look at.
Most of the foundation of design is translated into 3D design, but there are new aspects to consider especially if you work mainly in 2D, but it is a great skill that the design world today relies on. Extending not only your creative thinking but possibilities of new ways to create and gain a wider audience. Catarina Bernardi Illustration and Visual Media We are all in a bit of a weird place now. No one really saw it coming, but now everyone is locked in their own house, restrain to their bedroom, kitchen and living room. And the main concern is not knowing when it will end, having no real certainty put in front of us - which is something that society never really faces. A lot of things were put into test these days, including the shift of the 'regular' ways of working. Meetings became Zoom calls, offices became living room tables. Some people have been using this time to become multitaskers: read three books a week, learn a new language, workout from home, chat with every family member once a week and become a Masterchef in the kitchen. However, that’s not the case for all of us. I’ve been reading a lot of accounts from artists and designers on how they feel unmotivated and uneasy, which has been getting in their way of working. Mainly when we direct our minds to those that work by themselves. Staying at home all day causes that weird feeling of not having a clear separation between work and rest. And when it comes to creative practices that need more than one person, or a proper space, involved it can become even harder to process how to act in these times. In this mix of ultra and under productiveness I’ve seen attempts from a few different creatives trying to gather a community of practices to keep creating and incentivising others to do the same, while sharing their feelings and reflections of their isolations. I’ll listen to them below as an incentive to myself, and others that might need some inspiration. Fernando Schlaepfer (@anendfor) Fernando is a photographer who is currently under quarantine alone in his house in Rio. Having no one other than himself, a camera and in house gadgets, Schlaepfer has been creating a series of photos to reflect his impressions during this self-isolation times - much like an illustrated quarantine journal. He has also been bending his editing and shooting techniques, and sharing step-by-step reports of his practice in his Instagram stories. Quarerente’ Na Minha Vida (https://quarentenaminhavida.tumblr.com/) The project was created by the artist Camila Cornelsen and it consists of daily photography challenges for people to register their surroundings. All entries are gathered in a Tumblr blog, always open for submissions. As Camila said on her Instagram post: “The idea was to create a sort of collective confinement diary. For me, and I hope for others too, it is a tool to escape from anxiety and the fear of over the lack of work during the next months.” Projetemos (@projetemos) Projetemos is an Instagram page dedicated to sharing the work of VJ’s all over Brazil. These days, it serves as a showreel of manifests spread out through the country, an urban open galleries that come from a single window, sharing personal messages, public warnings, or words of protest. It’s a great platform for seeing visual artistic expression being shared on a public space, in times like this - where the public can’t go to any space that isn’t the private. It breaks the perception that people are all on their own and reflects the sense of community and the presence of the other in a very physical way. At this moment, I have fluctuated between being on the very proactive and productive side, trying to get my creative muscles working, and the very unmotivated, uninspired side. I believe that the fact that I continued my internship in a home office space has got in the way of dedicating to my own independent creative practice, however, it has helped me a lot in my professional practice. Throughout the weeks I’ve been more able to test what routine and workspace fits my needs better, and how to keep clear and constant communication with my colleagues in order to keep with our deadlines. Besides that, I’ve been able to catch up on my thesis readings, started a frame by frame animation course online and briefly explored my traditional and digital illustrations skills (example below). |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2022
Categories |