5.4 ryan long

IntroductIon

At the start of this academic year I was fixated with the idea of finding my personal design style. I believed that having an individual look sets an individual apart from everyone else in this competitive industry. However, I have come to R ealise that I ma y never achieve this goal an d I shou L d instead be focusing on doin g whatever feels right at the time. My area of design is very broad. This year, I have focused mainly on book-making, creative writing and Psychogeography. At the moment, I have very different ideas for the future inspired by all that I have learnt during the course.

“It ’s not what you look at that mat t e rs; i t ’s what you see .” – Henry David Thoreau

PItcH:

• So far I dont have a visual style, so this term I am going to concentrate on developing my own design style

• I have been searching for similarities and aspirations in artists such as Barney Bubbles, Stanley Kubrick, Kit Williams and the author James Joyce

• I aspire to create graphic design that communicates little to its viewers yet possesses information to be understood under closer inspection – doing so challenges the role of the simplifying designer and makes the viewer think more creatively.

• This term I want to create a puzzle book, somewhat similar to Kit Williams Masquerade.

I don’t mind how my work looks, for me the concept is important.

1. Square roots image. Use of creative writing and subtle graphics as a map to my own hidden treasure, inspired by the Masquerade book by Kit Williams

2. Another Square roots image. Hidden meanings in the shapes and symbols. > Inspired by Alvin Lustig’s meaningless shapes

3. Barney Bubbles album design for ‘Gone in the morning’ by the ‘Quivers’ > Explain: Tulips open in the day & close @ night BB implicitly relates this to the album

4. A page from Kit Williams puzzle book ‘Masquerade’ represents the concept style I want my work to convey.

Overall, I want to create work my audience can interact with. The problem I have is finding a way for my work to capture then maintain its viewers attention, I feel posters are a quick almost disregarded experience; this is why a book format appeals to me.

BrIefs & IntentIons

Personal Brief

For this brief, I created a puzzle book inspired by my interest in the withholding information in design. I wanted to test the effectiveness of non-affirmative design within the context of the immersive format of a book, but at the same time develop my book-making skills and understand InDesign.

External Briefs Sound Workshop with Chris Watson

For this workshop, we had to collect sounds from Leeds city centre to accompany a chosen abstract film clip (approximately 5 minutes). I wanted to create something with lots of ambience and dynamic range to reflect the feel of the film and this involved recording at different times during the day, using a Dictaphone and a contact mic to collect the sounds we needed.

Creative Writing Workshop with Helen Cross

For this brief, I decided to create an audio poem about the Hyde Park Picture House’s 100th anniversary to be broadcast live on Radio East Leeds FM. I wanted

my poem to rhyme and involve metaphors while simultaneously remaining understandable and accessible

to a wide audience. I also wanted to involve my sound recording abilities to make an original audio poem.

Time Brief

For this brief, I had to either design a system for recording/ planning time, or conceptually representing time. I decided

to create a piece of information graphics approximately documenting current major international, British, arts and

music events of 2013. This idea corresponds with my project about time.

Process

Ted Hughes- The Thought Fox

Once I have an idea I start by researching. This involves attending tutorials and workshops, finding similarities in practitioners and making notes. The image above is a page of notes from a Critical Design workshop I attended.

Keeping notes and jotting down any ideas that come to you is very important. You can look back on how you started to know more about the journey you have undergone. Above: pages from my sketchbook etc.

Once you’re ready, start working. Above is a story board/ plan of my puzzle book.

Knowing that I wanted to do book-making, I attended a workshop. In the end I had designed a book cover and learnt a lot about the industry of publishing. Above is my cover design for a hyperthetical Ted Hughes - Thought fx poem book.

Making sound recordings around Leeds City Centre for a Sound Workshop with Chris Watson.

The final stage of our workshop was to assemble our sounds into Final Cut Pro and other editing programmes. This was a very benefitial experience that will certainly be helpful in the future.

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A P R I L

The Grand National at Aintree

Queen receives BAFTA for Olympic bond girl role

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead reaches no2 in the singles chart

Boston Marathon bombings

Same Sex marriage legalised in France

US gun control fails vote

Death of Margaret Thatcher, 87 Margaret Thatcher’s funeral

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M A R C H

Queen Treated In Hospital for Gastroenteritis

Red Nose Day

coldest Easter Sunday on records

Patricia McCarthy wins national poetry competition Hilary Mantel wins David Cohen prize

Kate Tempest wins Ted Hughes award for innovation

St. Patrick’s Day

Singer Morrissey hospitalised with pneumonia

Mother’s Day

The EU bans all sale of all animal tested cosmetics

North Korea ends all peace pacts with South Korea

Royal College of Art: Secret Sale

Fraudster Giovanni Di Stefano is Jailed for 14 years

Same sex marriage march in Paris, France

Biggest Cyber-attack in history

Decorative part of Berlin wall knocked down

Phil Ramone dies aged 79

Girls Aloud break up

My chemical Romance Break up

Kraftwerk cannot perform in China

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F E B R U A R Y

The viewing platform at the Shard opens to the public

Skeleton discovered as Richard III

Same sex marriage legalised

‘Liberty leading the people’ painting is vandalised

The Oscars

Chelyabinsk meteor injures 1,200

BRIT awards, London

Valentine’s Day

Findus withdraw contaminated horse meat meals

Paralympian, Oscar Pistorious charged with murder

People arrested in relation to horse meat

Belgian diamond heist

North Korea threatens South Korea

Ikea withdraws meat balls due to horse meat contamination

First ever female president in South Korea

Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI

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J A N U A R Y

Fares on London transport increase by an average of 4.2%

Horse meat scandal

Helicopter Crash in London

Disruptive snow

Silvia Plath controversial 50th anniversary Bell jar cover

Painted portrait of Kate Middleton

Golden Globe Awards

Patti Page Dies aged 85

HMV into administration

Gay marriage rally turns into riots in France

B r i t i s h S o c i a l E v e n t s :

A r t s :

M u s i c :

I n t e r n a t i o n E v e n t s :20

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The last external project was a creative writing workshop. This linked well with my personal Brief as I was able to improve my poetic ability. My work in the workshop also helped me record my poem into an audio format. Above is a popcorn box I made, inside are the words to my poem spiraling down...

As I worked on my external projects I assembled my puzzle book into InDesign.

To see if my work looks as good as it does on screen, I printed it to see if the size and print all looked good enough. Above is are two pages from my book testing a Visual design technique.

Another stage during the brief was the Time project. I learn’t a lot about using grid systems.

The last stage is printing. This can sometimes take a while as not everything turns out as it should, giving yourself time to print is important. The final stage is reviewing and being analytical with all you’ve done.

work

This section of the study outlines further details about my influences throughout this project and information about the different briefs.

The Personal Brief

I wanted my audience to work at what they see, to decode and solve my designs like puzzles. Therefore, I considered the role of non-affirmative design (also known as Critical Design) outside the university environment. However, I want viewers to really immerse themselves into the design, and so I considered how a member of the public would react to this in a public environment. I came to the conclusion that this kind of work would operate better in a book rather than a poster, as people feel more inclined to challenge the content they see in a book. With a book, they also have more time to interact because the ‘reader’ usually pauses to flick through the pages whereas a poster is usually glanced at in passing.

I am largely inspired by two artists, Barney Bubbles and Kit Williams. I took inspiration from Bubbles because the way in which he hides his information in his work is very similar to my interests. For example, the LP cover for the band Quiver called ‘Gone in the morning’ (1972) where he implicitly depicts tulips opening and closing to represent morning and night, as the name of the album suggests. I t is interesting to see that there is a playful quality in the design of the tulips, as they also represent a quiver of arrows, which ‘plays’ on the name of the band.

Kit Williams works in a similar way to Bubbles i.e. concealing information from the viewer. He has produced a series of puzzle books, his most famous being Masquerade (1979) which is a treasure hunt book. His creative writing and his ability to influence readers to go find the treasure relates to my interest in Psychogeography.

I set out to make a puzzle book. I adjusted old Aesop fables into modern scenarios to form the text to work from. I also wanted, similar to James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922), to present another challenge where the readers can figure out which fables these updated versions are based upon. Hidden within most pages are 6 words, when pieced together there is a line of my eight-line riddle. The riddle is a rhyming poem about the whereabouts of my hidden treasure. To provide further clues, I use shapes and photography.

I continued to research as the project progressed and discovered a type of book-making known as visual writing e.g. Jonathan Safran Foer’s Tree of Codes (2010); this largely inspired my use of layout within book-making.

I continued to research as the project progressed and discovered a type of book-making known as visual writing e.g. Jonathan Safran Foer’s Tree of Codes (2010); this largely inspired my use of layout and book-making techniques. Visual Writing is a term derived by Visual Editions, a London based book publishers, for books specialising in demanding design book.

When considering my target market, I came to the conclusion that adults would not give their time to go ‘treasure hunting’ unless they were orienteers, psychogeographer’s or simply treasure hunters. I later considered individuals, perhaps academics, who are interested in puzzles and challenges. Finally, I decided that it could be any of these people. It would be interesting to see who would be drawn to this kind of book if it was published.

Critical/ Non-Affirmative Design

“Critical Design uses speculative design proposals to challenge narrow assumptions, preconceptions and givens about the role products play in everyday life.” - Dunne & Raby

My ‘puzzle’ book uses critical/ non-affirmative design to make its viewers actively assess and think about what they see; similar to the way in which puzzles work. My aim is to test how much information can be concealed in the design, yet retain its subtle ability to communicate to its target market.

The main agenda concealed within the book, is to eventually encourage the viewer to hunt around Leeds in search of the buried treasure; an attempt to engage my audience with Psychogeography. I believe that the traits needed to understand Critical Design are such as open-mindedness and inquisitiveness, mirror those required in Psychogeography.

However, if my understanding of Critical Design has been misconstrued then I will have developed my own definition of the term: design that refuses to conform to the mainstream formalities of simplicity, directness and quick understanding.

Aside from testing the capabilities of non-affirmative/ Critical Design, one of my main aims when making this book was to develop my design style, to play with the qualities of a book, and most importantly create something I can learn from and perfect later on.

External Briefs

Sound Workshop with Chris Watson

Chris Watson is a British musician and sound recordist specialising in natural history. He has worked with David Attenborough and was once in a band called Cabaret Voltaire.

For this workshop, abstract sounds were created to accompany a short abstract film of about 5 minutes produced by another workshop group.

Chris Watson taught us how to record effectively; he did this by showing us how to use a Dictaphone, editing equipment and how to build our own contact mic. Using this equipment, I collected natural atmospheric sounds from the empty streets of central Leeds at four am; this was an interesting experience. It was an opportunity to record sounds that are not heard during the busy day such as the low resonance echoing through the empty streets. Once I had a variety of material, I then started applying the sound to the film in ‘Final Cut Pro’. Eventually my group and I produced a sound accompaniment which did exactly as we had hoped i.e. adding atmosphere and enhanced character, the film group were positive about the added dimension to the film.

Creative Writing Workshop with Helen Cross

For the 100th anniversary of the Hyde Park Picture House the group created audio poetry to be broadcast from Radio East Leeds FM. We attended a series of workshops at the Picture House; Helen Cross, a successful author, gave us writing exercises that would help us think and work like poets. I found the experience inspiring and often came home completely motivated to write. After a few workshops, I started writing my poem. I was inspired to work with rhyme and metaphors but at the same time I needed to ensure it was easily accessible to a wide-range audience which might include families. I really struggled with the poem as it took me a few weeks to complete instead of the day or so I envisaged. However, I liked the challenge and found it rather enriching for my writing and thinking skills. Over the time it took me to write the poem I had several versions of each stanza before I was finally happy with the ones for the final edit.

The next challenge was recording my poem; I never realised the difficulty it entailed to record it the way I wanted it, but after several attempts I achieved the outcome I was striving for. I have come to believe that practising verbal rhetoric is beneficial, as it involves thinking more about how to execute the tone of speech in normal and persuasive situations.

Time Brief

I came to this project with a strong idea before I started any research. I originally wanted to organise one event per calendar season where I assign illustrators to decorate some boring grey concrete slabs surrounding the Broadcasting Place car park. However, I discovered that the area was not the property of the University and I would require permission from the Leeds City Council and this would take too much time to complete the whole process.

So, after further research I eventually settled on creating a timeline. This idea was largely inspired by a book called ‘A Time Chart of Social History’ by Winifred Gossling (1970, figure 4). I found the organisation and arrangement of the information within the book intricate and well thought out i.e. the information within the graphics is laid out in a way that clearly compares the events surrounding ‘one year’ with the others of that time.

I came to realise that I could tie this time project with one I am working on. The idea is to create a piece of information graphics that show the international, British, music and art events in conjunction with each other, similar to the above reference piece.

I started by looking online at events that took place each day of the month, placing close attention to the more important and prominent ones, such as the death of Margaret Thatcher. I then labelled each event into the correct categories as above. The next and the most challenging step was to create the layout of the timeline. This involved a certain level of maths to ensure the grid system looked even across the page; I used InDesign for this. I intended the text to ‘fit’ within its dated column; however, due to the number of columns and size of the page, I had to use markers showing where the text belonged. The last stage was to digitally print the timeline, and then to make into an accordion fold-book; however, due to the lack of time I had to abandon this final stage. I recognise that I need to improve my time management skills to ensure all projects are delivered on time.

I do not indent to abandon this piece of work. It very much relates to my own 2013 ‘out of University’ time project. I can continue to update and improve this timeline as the year progresses. I will be able to use this piece of work to explore the events happening around certain dates written in my diary so this is work in progress which will continually change over the year.

Overall, the creative writing workshop with Helen Cross developed my writing skills for the personal brief and it has also enabled me to find space to explore poetry. Sound and poetry have a connection as poetry is usually written to be read out aloud, thus creating an audio spectacle. Sound is an interesting medium to work with because even in the places we expect to find silence there is always a resonance, I believe this links with the negative space within my design work.

crItIcal revIew Austin Kleon Newspaper Blackout (2010)

“The true poem is the daily newspaper” - Walt Whitman

Austin Kleon is known as “a writer who draws”. Living in Austin, Texas, Kleon would use a black marker pen to black out words in the New York Times newspaper as he commuted to work on the bus. The poems he created were uploaded onto a blog (newspaperblackout.com) where he gained feedback that encouraged him on to do more and eventually make the book.

This technique of ‘found’ poetry is not new; I have seen it done in A Humument by Tom Phillips and Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer. “Stealing” is not an unusual means for Kleon as his best seller book Steal like an Artist (2012) would suggest. This book is a 10 stage guide to achieving your full creative potential and it was through this book I discovered Newspaper Blackout.

I like the book. This type of poetry is already something I am interested in, it possesses an air of Oulipo craft that always seems to stimulate inspiration and thought. I believe it has something to do with the disjointed nature of the words; due to the process of chance, the meanings of each seem forced together yet work in a way that can only be described as poetry. Kleon brings his individual ability with words to this technique, highlighting the poetry hidden within the cluster and the noise of newspaper print. I like the simplicity in his method, all you need is a broadsheet and felt-tip pen. The visual results emit an intellectual simplicity that you wished you had discovered first. My only criticism regarding the book is that the front cover shows you exactly what you get. I understand some people might like this, I however, believe Kleon could have taken this opportunity to show off another side of his ability in the arts; perhaps something a little more intriguing/ non-affirmative.

In April 2013, Kleon hosted his first solo show at the ‘UNT on the Square’ in Denton, Texas. Inspired by the digital world of sharing, which was in some way partially responsible for Kleon’s success; people were encouraged to take photographs and share them online. I believe this represents the modern attitude of accepting the unrestricted ability of the internet, a submission into the ‘free-world’. I was inspired by this advancement on the book. Kleon had taken his work outside of its original context and brought it into another to stimulate new meanings and effects. I believe I could easily do the same and would very much like to try it sometime in the future.

Overall, Newspaper Blackout really resonates with me because I can relate to it. The book can be classed as a piece of Visual Writing; a subject I have been exploring and attempting to emulate in my design work. Visual Writing is where poetry, layout and book-making combine; all of which are major interests for me at this time. In my view, Newspaper Blackout is a simple example of the perfect marriage of constraints and commitment, design and poetry.

“Creativity is subtraction. It’s the things we choose to leave out.” - Austin Kleon

artIcle revIewSigns of Arrival: Underground marks 150 years with art of the Labyrinth, article by Mark Brown, The Guardian (Friday 8th February 2013)

This article appealed to me due to its relation to puzzles, I see them as a form of non-affirmative design, where the viewer’s attention is demanded to make sense of what they see. I believe placing these designs into the London Underground, where around 4 million people every day pass through is, as some would say, a great way to get your work seen. However, I believe immersive designs such as these labyrinths would slow certain individuals down as they attempt the puzzle; a good thing in the busy stressing crowds that there can be.

There is an element of escapism that transports the uncomfortable tube traveller into a geometric landscape void of tricks and dead ends, crowds and trains. Since all you have to do is follow the line into the centre, the chances of you achieving the goal are more than likely and so everyone can feel

a momentary sense of achievement.

I like the layout of this article, you can see a clear grid system that makes everything seem so much more inviting and professional. The text, despite its small size is legible and not hard to read in some place. I quite like the title font because it looks smart with a few nice figures. However, there are a few letters with serif’s I am not too keen on. A major dislike concerning this font is the small minute gaps between each letter, it just seems messy to me.

The writer of this article, Mark Brown, is the Arts Correspondent for the paper. The article is written in a way that ensures non-art enthusiasts can understand. Brown talks about these Underground installation pieces and then about the artist himself; Mark Wallinger. There is also close attention to which Underground stations will/ have these design, this is for people to either find or simply look out for the puzzles as they commute to work etc.

BIBlIograPHyBooks Aesop (1954), Fables of Aesop, Harmondsworth, Penguin classics > Used book to find fables to manipulate then use in my puzzle book, personal study brief.

Crow, D (2003), Visible Signs, Crans-près-Céligny, AVA Publishers > to understand further the abilities of communication in graphic design

Foer, J,S (2010), Tree Of Codes, Belgium, Visual Editions> Bought to better understand technique of carving out a story from a story.

Gossling, W (1970), A Time Chart of Social History, London, Lutterworth Press > A time chart of the history of man. The information graphics inspired me to do something similar within my time brief.

Jones, V,S,V (1975), Aesop’s Fables, London, William Heinemann > Used to find interesting fables to use in puzzle book. Also included interesting illustrations that inspired a little.

Kleon, A (2012), Steal Like an Artist, New York, Workman Publishing Company > Used it for inspiration and potential critical studies quote/ epigraph.

Mason, M (1972), James Joyce: Ulysses, London, Edward Arnold Ltd > I read to better understand the way James Joyce made Ulysses, how he hides information.

Poynor, R (2008), Jan Van Toorn: Critical Practice, Rotterdam, 010 Publishers > Taken out to find similarities in conceptual practice.

Films Jan Harlan (2001), Stanley Kubrick: A life in pictures, Warner Brothers, 135 minutes > An interesting documentary about Kubrick and his work, helped to better understand the way this artist works.

Magazines Corridor8 (2012), Contemporary Art and Writing Journal, issue #3 > Studied design of book & magazines (parts 1-3)

Corridor8 (2012), Contemporary Art and Writing Journal, issue #3, Part 2, Insert: Re-Reading Breakthrough Fictioneers, edited by Bryony Bond > Nicely designed book insert, featured typographic technique I intend to use in my puzzle book

Signs of Arrival; Underground marks 150 years with art of the Labyrinth, Mark Wallinger, Mark Brown, The Guardian, Fri 8th Feb 2013 > Analysed for Critical Study, magazine review section.

Websites BBC Radio 4 – In search of Barney Bubbles, Mon 2nd Jan 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018wh7h

Dunne & Raby - Critical Design FAQ, http://www.dunneandraby.co.uk/content/bydandr/13/0

PractItIoner IntervIew

Recorded conversation with Joel Colover in the 4th floor of the Broadcasting Place studios:

How would you describe you design style?

I try not to have a style, but I think at the moment because I’m working on maybe similar things maybe it comes across like that. Dunno.

How would you say it comes across then?

Quite dry and academic. I felt last year, I did a lot of really nice interesting work, but there were bits that fell down because I just couldn’t achieve the exact results that I wanted, so this year I decided to focus quite a bit on technique and ideas, rather than just large conceptual stuff. Yeah.

That’s really similar to me really. I’ve been working really conceptually and now I’m getting to a point where I feel I can’t get what I want to get across well enough, I need to become more of a graphic designer with the craft; understanding layout , grid systems and the r ight typography I think all that stuf f, it ’s really important .

Yeah, it was a weird way to do it and maybe it wasn’t exactly the right way I don’t know. It was really nice just to think about forms for a little while, and to give myself the time to do that.

How have you gotten to where you are now?

It’s not who you know, it’s who you blow; that’s what Super Hans says in Peep Show.

Nar, I don’t know. Just a lot of luck and but also I put in the hours. For some reason I ended up in certain places at certain times and, I don’t know how that happened but it’s not like I’ve slacked off over the last 3 years or before that. I didn’t always know what I wanted to do I don’t think you do at all, you don’t. But just take advantage of every opportunity. Make friends, don’t say “no mate” you know.

But that’s the thing like, if you’re going round asking if it’s going to pay off? Then that’s already not quite the right attitude. Just make sure you’re in it for the right reasons.

If you’re going around finding things because you think they’re interesting and you think they’re fun and then you’re working off that and you’re working and you’re adding to that then that’s all that matters.

I think that ’s the way it should be, working for fun and not for money, you’ve got plenty of years to worry about that when you leave uni .

Who would you like to be in the future?

I don’t; who I am now but still just doing it. Being in a position where I’m able to experiment and do interesting things and interesting workshops and build stuff, and hopefully get paid for it without too much compromise.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I don’t know, somewhere in between London and some other places in Europe, like northern Europe, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Do you have a favourite typeface?

I really like Folio, it a little bit like Helvetica. It’s got a weird ‘A’, I really like that but I guess you go through phases, right.

Have you attended the Robert Filliou exhibition, what did you think?

Yeah, I quite liked it. There were a few pieces I enjoyed: there was an envelope with, I guess it might have been an invite or score, something like that. It’s hard to know what to make of that sort of stuff.

Who is your favourite philosopher?

The two people whose writing I’ve enjoyed the most are Deleuze and Guattari; they’ve got this one book called ‘A Thousand Plateaus’ I haven’t finished it at all but it’s just amazing, yeah it’s had a massive impact on me. They’ve got this other book called ‘Anti-Oedipus’ “A manual for living a non-fascist life”. It’s just great, really interesting. I think it’s so abstract but at the same time totally applicable to so many things.

How does the 3rd year differ to the 2nd?

I don’t know. I feel like I freaked out way too much, I found it so hard… Like, putting together a list of priorities, to be able to follow one thing through… just to know what to do. I found myself re-examining a lot stuff I had done before, and that is useful. Yeah it’s just really fucked me over this year.

Did you prefer your second year more?

I think I needed my third year; I needed this year and I needed those things to happen for the space to think about...

...them, because I don’t think I would have had it being another second year. I wouldn’t have wished for something else because its just an awkward journey

Do you think you need another stage after your third year, like a fourth year?

I don’t know. No because, mean I probably do but I don’t want one I just want to go out and do my shit.

I’m going to go back to London to my parents, do some internships see what that’s like and then also try and sort something out with some friends, and maybe a studio space. Or maybe go abroad; doing internships abroad could be cool or uni abroad. Something like that.

Knowing what you know now, do you have any advice for me and my approaching 3rd year?

Party hard. I can’t go to any gigs or anything like that now because I’ve got so much work and I feel like I probably should have done more of that last year.

Hit it hard; I did but not hard that hard.

Overall, I want to focus on learning graphic design; having a strong concept is only one part of the creative process. I can see that my final outcomes are not as good as I want them to be for example, I realise I need to improve my skills regarding digital and studio techniques to a higher standard.

In my final academic year, I am going to learn how to make and use typography and grid systems, and understand paper and printing methods. I want to be fully prepared for the industry beyond university. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure my time management skills are ‘up to speed’ and I intend to concentrate on ensuring that this occurs.

Over the summer I am going to create a family tree of typefaces. It will show how each typeface is related and will include a brief history of the font and its designer. Through having a background understanding of type, I will have a deeper understanding on how to apply them, and I will also learn how to develop my own.

future