MOVEMENTS

All of these images are photos I took and retouched of posters I saw in a poster shop in Cool Springs. A few may be far fetched, and others may be more “modern” to the current times than the original style, but they’re still relevant to the assignment.

This was a Kitsch Absolut Vodka poster ad. It is considered Kitsch because of how TACKY it is. Just look at it… there are porcelain deer figurines and bunnies surrounding an ugly clay bottle. Not to mention the fact that the wall paper is just hideous, and the doily just makes everything wore than it already is. This is truly repulsive, and I get the feeling that this was more of a joke than anything. I got a good laugh out of it.

This is my example for Early Modern – New Typography. Now this is more along the lines of MODERN modern, and I am aware that it is a digital rendering of type. However, the style behind it is of the New Type movement. I like the textured type face and the fluid geometry of the letters, and the colors fit nicely together. This is just a simple poster promoting the progression of new ideas, and the simplicity makes it work. The only thing that somewhat sets it apart is the fact that it isn’t combined with a photograph or other image, but in this case it wasn’t necessary.

This is a U2 poster for their in 3D production that was shown in theatres. While this poster is focused on typography, the images that are digitally overlayed create a lot of interest and really catch a viewer’s eye. I actually went to a showing of this, and the poster was a lot cooler than the show. That is good design at work.

I am not quite sure what this poster is for. It didn’t have a caption or anything… it was just in a poster “flip display” in the shop. It is in the psychedelic style, with its bizarre organic swirling forms and funky colors. The style really tries to emulate the effects of drugs… and all I can say is that anything that makes you see things like this is messed up and probably very bad for you.

This is the classic Dorfsman poster with the man saying the Pledge of Allegiance with a flag painted on his face. Obviously a Swill International design. I believe that the version we had in our books was in black and white, and surrounded by text. This one is clearly in color. The overall style choice for this poster makes it powerful and helps it communicate clearly, which is probably why Dorfsman was an influential designer.

Here is another well-known poster: the Obama HOPE campaign poster. This particular design is relative to postmodern thanks to its block colors and the sans serif font choice. That is really all I have to say about this image… I’m not a raving Obama fan. I will give it credit though, because this poster is one of the most publically recognized images he had in his campaign.

This is a poster for a circus. I believe that it is of the contemporary style, white a print-like feel and bright colors combined with a hand-rendered type. I REALLY like this poster. And the fact that the zebra looks completely awesome being disfigured like it is really makes me wish I had bought a copy so I could frame it an hang it on my wall!

This is a Late modern poster for the 1950’s world cup. I didn’t really like this poster, I feel like it’s a little boring and stagnant. However, I believe that it must have been fairly popular since it circulated enough that the shop felt the need to reproduce it and sell it as a cheap wall art poster.

PASTE UP PROJECT

Our last in-class workshop was a paste-up project. This is basically the process by which designers would organize and present their work to a printer in order to achieve a desired image. Thankfully all we had to do was cut out predetermined images and letters and rearrange them into a design that was derived from a reference. There are generally 5 pages to a paste-up book aside from the cover: the first page is a rundown of what images are printed in which colors… basically, it’s a series of arrows and color names. The second page designates what is to be printed in black, the 3rd shows magenta, the 4th shows cyan, and the final shows yellow.

The real pain was cutting out the letters to form a circle. It was time consuming and very frustrating, especially after I had been working on it for a good 20 minutes. However, the time it took to complete this quick little paste-up pales in comparison to the time it actually takes to complete one from scratch. I cannot even begin to imagine the stress and dedication it would take to have to do that. That is why I am proud to say that Adobe revolutionized our lives by publishing the Photoshop and Creative Suite software, making the lives of designers across the globe about 200x easier.

RARE PRINTS GALLERY

Our class made a trip down to the Rare Prints Gallery in Downtown Franklin to see just that… rare prints that have been preserved and have stood the test of time. Our “guide” was very knowledgeable of the subject, being that she aids in the collection, restoration, and sale of prints whose plates and blocks have been long gone for decades and even centuries.

While she didn’t spend much time lingering on any specific prints, I found myself attracted to the Audubon birds of America series. This interest was not without prior inspiration—for many projects and presentations throughout my pre-college career, I had chosen J.J. Audubon as my subject. I have always admired his work and the accuracy found in his paintings. The real reason, of which I was already aware, why his prints are so valuable is because his wife had all of his engravings plates melted down for money after he died, leaving only the prints that had already been circulated behind.

The gallery itself was amazing. It was organized and well displayed, with each wall meticulously lined with prints from different artists spanning centuries of history. It is truly amazing trying to take it all in when you first stumble upon the shop. This is definitely a place I would have interest in re-visiting in the near future, and I would highly recommend others to drop in and check it out.

PRINTING

Unfortunately, I was ill the day we did the printing workshop in class. So I have decided to include the next best thing—a piece that I did in another class this semester that grasps the same concept. Instead of printing my name, I printed a buck head.

First I needed to draw up a rough of what I wanted the print to look like. This took very little time, and I was able to figure out a game plan fairly quickly. I then had to simplify and designate which parts of the design were going to be black and which ones were going to be white. As you know, the white segments of the piece are what were carved out of the linoleum, and the remaining embossed design is what is printed in black.

Then I carbon copied the drawing onto the linoleum and colored in with a sharpie what I wanted to be black. The remaining blank areas I then carved out, in a manner that would create the illusion of abstract texture.

Once all of that mess was done, I inked the “plate” and ran it through a press. And voila! My buck head print was complete.

I have done this project before, and I plan to do it again in the future. While it is not my FAVORITE thing in the world, I still find it entertaining, and the possibilities of what can be done with the prints are nearly endless. However, it is time consuming and fairly messy, which I guess are just prices I pay for pursuing a career in the graphic arts.

HATCH SHOW PRINT

Jim Sherraden from Hatch Showprint paid us a visit at good old O’More College of Design. He is the boss man of one of the oldest and longest currently-running press-printing businesses left in the eastern US. He wanted to share with us the ins and outs of daily life at the press shop, providing us with visual aids as well as a casual yet entertaining rundown of how the business runs.

For me, the highlight of the visit was when he brought out some original posters and prints that were produced at the shop for various occasions. It made me wish that I had made a greater effort to look for/purchase these domestic masterpieces at music venues and other events… not just because they become rare and valuable over time, but because each poster has the human element behind it. I personally believe that there is greater worth and value behind something that has been graced by human hands than in a machine made good.

I think I speak for most, if not all, of us when I say that Jim did a fantastic job speaking to us. I plan on visiting the shop multiple times in the future, and will always be on the lookout for new prints that I can get my hands on. Who knows? Maybe I’ll apply for an internship there. Like Jim said… experience in the right place can build a better future, and Hatch may just be one of those places. Anyone who ever has the chance to pay this little shop a visit definitely should, for it is likely an experience they’ll not soon forget.

CANNON SOUND SCULPTURES

 

I found this totally awesome advertisement on Stumbleupon.com, a website that randomly directs users to different web pages concerning the individual's interests. These are fairly obscure websites, none of which are generally well known, but Stumble has a web filter that blocks sites that transmit viruses.

LINK TO THE VIDEO: (please, just watch it... it's totally worth it)

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4z7uRk/www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/11774/dentsu-paint-sound-sculptures.html

Obviously, I have "graphic design" and "advertising" selected as 2 of my interests, which explains why this video came up.  As you can tell, this ad uses highly modern technology in combination with color and photography/film to create a breath-taking commercial for the Cannon Pixima.... which, as you see really brings "color to life." 

 CRAZY INSANE CAMERA CONTRAPTION

 

These are just a few snapshots of the action, which are beautiful sculptures of sound-animated ink that have been frozen in time with the use of a high speed camera.

Truly amazing. Enjoy!

(hint: click to enlarge)