Brighton University open day

Yesterday I visited Brighton with friends to view and find out more about the Graphic Design BA course at the University of Brighton. I found out a lot of information about the course and other aspects of the University which was extremely helpful.

I first attended a presentation in one of the Lecture rooms which gave a brief introduction to the tutors, and opportunities that students have achieved in the past. After this we were given a tour of the facilities  and i was very impressed. I like the variety of techniques they use and the whole subject is quite broad and not all just digital. 

We then was taken to Halls where a current student showed us what the rooms look like and answered all our questions.

The whole day was very useful and I know i will definitely be applying there. Brighton itself is a beautiful place and everything is in walking distance. 

Good Website Analysis

I then looked online for three websites that have good design.

 I really like the Apple website as its simple and easy on the eye as it has a large photo with a small amount of text but with links. It is easy to find you way around the website and is appealing to the eye as the page is full but has little information so is not a lot to take in. 

 This website is for graphic designer and illustrator Justin Maller. I really like his work and i think his website has a very good layout. the opening page is full of images of his work set out neatly in a tidy square with links at the top. The website is interesting to look at and easy to use. 

This website for women's clothing called Missguided uses sophisticated colours that would appeal to women. the layout is set out tidy and is easy to find what your looking for. It has images to advertise clothing they are selling and showing it on models to see what it looks like on. The colours all work well together and is appealing to the eye. 

Bad Website Analysis

I looked online at 4 different websites that have been bald designed and do not look very appealing.

 The first website i visited has a background that makes the information on the website hard to read as your eyes are drawn to the background. It has flashing text and moving images such as the Canadian Flag which look awful and is too much. The website is full of banners and has a bad layout as it is all centre aligned. The images used on the website are of bad quality and the test is in blue on a light blue background which is hard to read.

 This website is too busy and all of the links and images are crammed in to a small space. The bright red  and yellow is used too much so is a headache to look at. There is too much going on on one screen instead of spreading it out, and with the bright colours it looks cheap and not appealing.  

 The last website is a bit different from the last two. This website is clean and tidy, but is very boring to look at. The white background full of nothing but text does not look interesting and makes you want quit the page. the text is in blocks with no short information so is too much to take in for the first opening page. 

Artist/Designer that have inspired me.

Looking through design magazine 'Creative Review' I came across a piece of artwork that i liked. I then went onto the artists' website and found a range of works that inspired me and that caught my eye. The artist is Stuart Kolakovic who is an illustrator from the Midlands. I like the colours he uses in his work and the style of the illustrations he does. His work ranges from soft lighthearted images to grungy old-fashioned work. His range of style makes his work unique and interesting.

On the left he has created some packaging designs for Marks & Spencer. he uses soft colours and intricate designs which look beautiful. On the right Kolakovic has made what looks like a Winter scene and he uses bright cool colours which enhance a Wintery feel. 

 I like the cartoon feel of this illustration and love the butterfly design. The dark warm colours work well in this image and it has a lighthearted feel. 

 There is a warm feel to this illustration with the use of warm colours and the the theme of love really stands out with the pink colours, candles and a cuddling couple. I think the rich warm colours work well with the hint of cool colours. 

These pieces of work show his grungy and old-fashioned style. The one on the left has quite dark dingy colours with scripted type. The one on the right is quite comical and appears to show the theme of halloween. 

Trip to Brighton

On Friday 20th September we went to Brighton to visit the Art Fair. I found this very interesting and it was good to see other peoples work. I found some pieces that could help me in my Narrative project. There was a lot of diverse work made from different materials and techniques from painting to sculpture and textiles. i particularly liked a piece that was made with fabrics, sequins and stitching of lots of fish. The artist presented the fish doing different actions to represent the names of the fish. i thought this idea was particularly clever as it gets the viewers to think about what the image is trying to represent.

                                    Pink Sequin fish smoking representing 'Smoked Haddock'.

     This was a sculpture of a tree made from wire and paper. On the paper there were little messages that read different things. This is a very narrative piece of work and can help me with my project. 

This is an oil painting of a lollypop stuck in the stones of a beach which reminded me of the beaches of Brighton. I liked the colours used and the message of love that came through to me when looking at this piece of art. 

We next went to the Ink-D Gallery where there was a exhibition of Jon Burgerman. I had researched into him before the Brighton trip and couldnt wait to see the work. I loved the bright colours he used and the Graffiti style of his work. Upstairs in the Gallery they had anpother exhibition of pieces that were put in before the Burgerman exhibition. this included mostly lighting and other graffiti styles. 

 This was a photo taken of some wallpaper which covered one entire wall. It was made up of the characters Jon Burgerman draws in black and white and is made so the customer can colour the wallpaper in when it is put up on the wall. This is a very good and unique idea. 

Here is a photo of inside the gallery and the walls with Burgermans' work. They are complete with bright colours and graffiti styled drawings. 

 Heres me with a smiley face lighting display we found in the upstairs exhibition. 

It was full of different lighting displays using neon LED lights which looked amazing. 

I liked this smiley face spaceman as it was lighthearted and innovative. 

I also visited the lanes and went to ChoccyWoccyDooDah which was really exclusive but quite pricy. I also walked along Brighton Pier where all the rides are and got fish and chips. 

 Here is ChoccyWoccyDooDah in the Lanes. 

 View from Brighton Pier of the Beach and Ferris Wheel. 

 Entrance to the Brighton Pier. 

 Me standing on the Pier. 

I also visited the Brighton University as this is one of my options for Uni's. I collected some leaflets to read through about the exhibition being held there. 

I really enjoyed my trip to Brighton and enjoyed visiting different places. I feel i could have stayed there much longer but will definately be visiting again. 

Brick Lane & Graffiti

On my trip to the D&AD, I also visited Brick Lane. Here is where I found lots of examples of Graffiti. I found graffiti on walls, on buildings, windows, telephone boxes, and the floor. There was many examples of graffiti in different styles such as spray paint, stickers, sculptures and tiles. I found examples of the Shepard Fairey OBEY stencil and some Invader examples.

       

Here is the Shepard Fairey OBEY art. 

The D&AD New Blood Exhibition, London

I visited the University exhibition of the D&AD called New Blood. Here, there were many stools from different Universities across the Country, displaying a selection of pieces of work that students from the particular Uni's created. Some of the students and tutors from each University were at the stools to answer questions and give any information about the work and the Uni itself.


I took this opportunity to speak to the students and tutors from the Universities that caught my eye. Loughborough was one of the Universities I took particular interest in as they were not specialised in just Graphic Design or Illustration, but is open to both.

I took lots of prospectuses from the stands to read up more about the Universities and look at even more examples of the work produced there by students. There was lots of business cards and handouts from each stand too.

One of the pieces of work i liked was the wooden cut out letters that spelt "Love is wise". i liked this as i thought it was creative and different to other pieces of work.