Progress on my thesis statement

I became aware that my 'makes me happy' text is quite lighthearted really. Alot of what I like is pretty childish so I made the below as my thesis statement initially:

However on reflection I felt that it didn't have the positive feel I was hoping for and limited my future outcomes. I do not just like childish things and I wanted more scope for my manifesto. This led to my second attempt at a thesis statement:


The image in this second piece is made up of separate images of the letters, courtesy of Leo Reynolds. Credit: Leo Reynolds (www.flickr.com/lwr/)

Week 9: Coming up with a 'thesis statement', John Hammersley

Although a number of us had been off ill the previous week, John kindly briefly went through the class from the previous week. We swopped our 'Graphic Design that makes me happy' text with members that had been present the previous week for them to underline 3 key words that feature within the text. The idea is to almost summarise in a statement the basic idea behind the text and giving us a possible choice as a thesis statement to base our manifesto on.
My 3 key words outlined by Will were:

• Happy
• Fun
• Witty

All rather upbeat and lighthearted. Although I don't at this stage know how to turn this into a thesis statement, it does make me realise that I need to reflect this positivity in my manifesto.
We also looked at the finished designs of those who were in the previous week. Some really interesting pieces and through discussion and Johns critical eye, it became clear that we have to consider all our decisions regarding design thoroughly before implementing to ensure the final piece says exactly what we mean it to and doesn't contradict.

Week 9: Collaboration project

Although I was off last week, Malcolm explained to me the project that was set the previous week and let me join their group. The project task is basically to come up with a concept that in some way improves UWE but is literally just a concept rather than a creative task. We discussed a number of problems we had encountered which included:

- trouble finding our way around the campus
-Safety aspects of being on the campus so late
- Accessibility to the site

A possible solution for safety - the 'people bus'
The idea for pedestrians is that rather than walking alone, you would wait for others that also want to walk to make it safer. We discussed the idea of having 'people bus stops' where people leave together at indicated times from a stop that specifies itself as a people bus stop, or alternatively students could be bluetoothed if they are onsite when there are enough people to travel together using the people bus, e.g. towards the end of classes. There were a few concerns with this idea - there is no way to be certain that the people you are walking with are safe, unsavoury characters could use it as a place to target victims, and you could also be waiting for people who don't arrive making it less safe as you end up leaving later than planned.

A possible solution for finding your way around campus - more creative signage
Through the use of signage on the floor or huge posters to help new students find there way around the campus. Although this seemed like a good idea, it does seem like more of an improvement on existing signage rather than a complete solution.

It became clear through our discussions that safety and accessibility were often linked e.g. unsafe waiting for a bus in the dark that only comes once an hour so we attempted to find actions that would benefit both concerns.

Chosen solutions for safety and accessibility
Firstly lay on a shuttle bus that runs to and from Bower Ashton and town, perhaps just at peak times e.g. evening. Benefits - safety for those that stay late, encourage a more social aspect of student life - students will use the bar more often as it is more accessible. Pedestrians and cyclists would use the bus more often - you could have more bike space on the shuttle bus as well - this could work in conjunction with the cycle to work scheme.
A bus tracking system linked by GPS could also be put in place that would be displayed in reception and on the internet that could show where buses are on there journey, when a bus is full to keep the bus users better informed as to whether it is worth waiting for the bus or just getting a cab.

Motion Graphics: The child in me loves...

Please find below my motion graphics piece - as I had to compress the movie its not the best quality and is a bit jumpy. I also had some technical problems with sound, so please imagine that it fades out smoothly rather than the abrupt stop that it currently comes to!



The part that mentions 'simplicity', I feel should be changed to 'simple things'. Unfortunately I no longer have CS4 to amend the file but as this is just a work in progress, I figured it would be alright as it.

Graphic Design that makes me happy :)

As the viewer
As the viewer of graphic design, some of the qualities that make me happy can include (but is not limited to):

• Inspiration - when a piece of work really 'speaks' to me and prompts new thoughts and ideas. Often I find that really creative and colourful artwork inspires me
• Fun - Life is too serious. I feel happy when an element of fun is a contributory factor to design; I think this is what I like most about what I have seen of Airside's work. It is also why I like animated films.
• Colour - I tend to prefer work that has subtle amounts of bold and bright colour, although this doesn't have to be the case
• Imaginative - I tend to like magical things, I really enjoy design that feeds my imagination
• Witty - Humour or parody in design makes me feel included. This always has the effect of making me feel happy (unless the joke doesn't work)
• Clarity - I am definitely happier when a complicated message is simplified for me

As the creator
As the creator of graphic design, my needs differ and I feel happiest when:

• I feel like I'm adding something to the message or enabling the user to understand more clearly
• I'm set a really challenging task or have a really difficult client but overcome the obstacles and satisfy everyone's needs
• The client respects my opinion and doesn't try to entirely control the creative process
• I feel I'm contributing to a worthy cause
• I can't find too much to criticize about my own work after the project has been completed

Graphic Design that makes me unhappy :(

Quite often when I do not like graphic design, it is due to a number of factors which can include:

• Bad grammar and spelling - I don't think a rough piece of work has to have perfect spelling and grammar but a finished piece should. A piece of work should be checked sufficiently to eliminate as many errors as possible
• Too many different fonts in a design
• Mixed or unclear messages
• WordArt or Word in general used for graphic design

Week 7: Defining your aims, Rob Kettell

This week we discussed in more detail manifestos and it could mean. It could be a rant, a statement of intent, it could be very broad or very personal. I need to consider my influences and reasons why I am influenced and the properties I want my work to have. In sum I need to create my own yardstick with which to measure myself by.
We watched a number of short videos by well known designers/artists. One that particularly stood out to me was Paula Scher and her concept of 'serious play'. The idea behind this is that truly great pieces of work come about through an almost childlike process and that seriousness and solemnity are two very different things. To be serious is to be earnest or thoughtful, whereas solumn work is the kind designers knock out ten to a dozen, stealing ideas from others, or working to a confined set of rules.
This spoke to me as I am aware most of what I do in my current employment is very solemn - I have design and brand guidelines to adhere to that are very rigid, but the designs I enjoy of others are usually lighthearted and fun.
From this I decided to build my motion piece around the idea of 'the child in me loves' in a similar style to my visual influence - Airside Creative Agency.
For next week Rob has asked for us to write a piece of text entitled 'Graphic Design that makes me happy' which we will decipher next week in class.

Week 6: Motion Graphics, Rob Ketterell

Unfortunately Jennifer was ill this week, but Rob talked us through our influences with us further.
It became clear through the class that I had perhaps been overthinking the content of the motion graphics piece. Ultimately we are trying to find out about ourselves through this module and the outcome for this motion graphics piece does not necessarily have to do with the manifesto. I just need to get on with it!!!

Research Skills task

John had requested that we write down our search terms and provide (as well as the terms) the source we searched, the hits and relevance and to type it all up on A4. I began this task and immediately found it incredibly daunting. I started searching under the main heading 'manifesto' which bought up 75 results in the source Art Index Retrospective alone. I've decided to put this to one side for now and get back to my motion graphics piece

Contemplating my motion graphics piece

I really struggled getting my head around what to do my motion graphics piece on as I am still unsure of my manifesto.
Regarding my influences, my original list is very general - my favourite books and films are those because of the story rather than visual style. I don't feel I am very knowledgeable on art and have been more inspired by popular culture than anything else.

Some ideas I've had so far:

• George Orwell is one of my favourite writers, and his books tend to be quite political, moving and hard hitting. Would creating a propaganda style motion piece fulfill the brief? Or should I focus more on his style of writing rather than what he is writing about? This could be quite challenging!

• An album cover I particularly like the style of is Zero 7, When It Falls. The cover was designed by Blue Source (a creative group that doesn't exist anymore). Although quite contemporary, the cover looks like it has in part been influenced by a kind of 60s psychedelic style. Could I apply this style to my motion piece?

My other concern is I'm not sure what the content of the motion piece should be. Should it describe the manifesto or just introduce the viewer to ourselves?