No16 Thoughts post MA group discussion 28/06/11

Reflective Journal Entry No16 29/06/11

It is still early days in the exploration process for the last project work on the MACD, and in recent weeks since the last meet, I have been researching quite extensively the personal archive especially my own archive, how I trained, the leading lights of the day, designers who influenced me and provided very direct contact in and guidance. The real coup in the last week has been the contact with the Rylands and the chance to research their extensive collection of manuscripts, this set against the background of actually undertaking a series of experiments has boosted my confidence and I was able to provide this information to yesterdays group meet.

Development will continue with the historical archive exploration and I have contacted Julianne Simpson curator of this collection this morning, to set up a visit in the coming weeks. In the meantime I'm putting together further creative development of the AV slideshow, as begun in the 2nd Semester, and this is continuing. I have also before I forget now created the 'twin image display' which I had struggled to create conventionally last time, with the 'twin projector development'. This week using iMovie I successfully blended to the footage of the 'sky time footage' this is my 'moving timeline', with the images visuals and 'colour palette coding' and have now added Rylands Library visuals and my own handwritten examples. It is from here that I will develop the typographic element of handwritten script and interacting with the Rylands collection.

For the report the underlying them will focus on the way digital technology has over the last 20 years in particular seen the decline of the handwritten script, and the effect of modern communications on how individuals communicate with each other, and by this I mean a portion of the population under 25 who no longer write letters anymore?

It is with a sense of irony that while writing this latest entry, I was sent a link by e-mail which announced that 'Design Week' one of the creative industries foremost printed publications, is to cease printed version of it's output, and will instead concentrate on an 'online version' only. It was in many ways only a matter of time, and also I believe heralds how the future of publishing is going.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/story.aspx?storycode=3027886&PageNo=3&SortOrder=dateadded&PageSize=10#comments

More to follow on this...

Rylands reference photographs...

No16 More handwritten thoughts Part2

Reflective Journal Entry No16 27/06/11

Second selection of images of my own handwritten notes, thinking about using these for final pieces...

No15 More handwritten thoughts on current idea strands... Part1

Reflective Journal Entry No15 27/06/11

As mentioned briefly in No14, still continuing to develop the route for Typography and the Handwritten styles and here are my latest sketchbook thoughts enhanced, as originally submitted in my 1st semester sketchbook, this will now be continued... The next selection will be pics which may be selected for the AV Slideshow?...

No14 More thoughts on current idea strands...

Reflective Journal Entry No14 24/06/11

Still continuing to develop the route for Typography and the Handwritten styles. I'm coming to the conclusion the more I explore this area, the more, I feel like a 'Designer/Artist out of time'. Don't get me wrong I have once again fully embraced the expanded digital age we now live in and also take very much for granted, as I did back in 85 when I first undertook my initial computer graphics training, had I not got on board, then like so many of my generation of Graphic Designers form that period, I would have very quickly in a few years have struggled to stay in the business at an only conventional level. 

It was quite simply train, move on and develop, or just disappear into oblivion!

More to follow tomorrow...

No13 Meeting today at The Rylands Library P1...

Reflective Journal Entry No13 23/06/11

Quick note to post a few thoughts on my meeting today with Yvette Jeal from the Rylands. The meeting went very well very positive, and I got the opportunity to present my current work, and the video footage I shot on Tuesday. I will post tomorrow again with more details on this meeting, but for now I have been given permission to undertake a series of visual experiments in the next month, I just need to work out my dates (it may need 2 visits but 1 may do it?) and there areas I would like to choose. In the next week I shall drop Yvette a line back with timing and areas of interest, and I shall also be undertaking another fact finding visit...

I have also adapted my AV Slideshow, making alterations in content and some of the running order, especially the inclusion of more JRL shots.

The link below,

http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/firstimpressions/Pioneers-of-Print/Aldus-Manutius/

I will be delving into this further next week on my next visit and hopefully arranging a viewing of the materials?

More to follow tomorrow...

No12 Additional thoughts on typographic history and iMovie editing progress made today P1...

Reflective Journal Entry No12 22/06/11

Delving back into the archive's once again, this time to explore more typographic history. On Monday 20th I had a very good meeting with Tash my MACD tutor to discuss direction on the part of my ongoing project. I have been given the green light to continue my typographic exploration coupled with my analysis of personal and other handwritten styles, plus taking further my projection project which will now incorporate the typographic element more strongly and using the Rylands Library inside as the backdrop (meeting set for tomorrow at 2.00p, there)

More to follow later...

Updating later, I have made progress on the multi-image editing front using 'iMovie' For a a few weeks I have been trying to work through how I could apply a 2nd image to the rolling AV slideshow I created, and which has been projected on the main screen in the 109 Lecture Theatre. I undertook further tests yesterday some of which were successful others were not, however I did manage to achieve a collection of rough takes, which can be montaged together, but I now believe that to do this I will need to look at Adobe After Effects, and for this I have this afternoon downloaded a trial copy and will make a start on looking through tutorials tomorrow. In the meantime I have at least reached a point of real progress with the multi-imaging in iMovie and I will create another option for this, ready for another test, but this time in the Rylands itself.

Tomorrow I shall be working through my hand written notes to start to create a number of hand crafted examples based on my own personal journals, to start the process. I'm considering asking a good friends of mine in the states (she is a published poet) if I may use one or two of her poems to act a the basis for my handwritten examples which will them be blown up to a much larger size. As yet I'm not thinking the final thing, but there are still at two items I want to have printed and these will need updating first, timeframe no more than 3 weeks, this will run in the background.

Type Reference 2, Letraset...

Type Reference 1, Tony Forster and Letraset...

No11 Additional thoughts on where to go next Part 4... Letraset

Reflective Journal Entry No11 19/06/11

Once again delving back into the archive's and my personal archive experience, as I mentioned earlier while I was recently searching through some of my old college work, I came across photocopies from an old Letraset catalogue from 1978, in fact my first contact with Letraset was in 77, just after I had started college, and a rep from the company was visiting the college to promote products to the 3rd and 4th year Graphic students. I had just by chance had a tutorial with Tony, and he got a call that the rep had arrived, and he said 'fella here's a chance to make a start, and also you will get a few freebies in the process'. Tony wasn't wrong I received a small pack of type transfers and paper, plus a couple of marker pens, not bad for a 1st year fresher, the others were stunned.

This proved to be a pivotal moment for me, as before this I was not aware of the company and it's products and after this I was determined to get to know all their products, also by chance in early 78, my Father was given a couple of copies of the new catalogue (he sold photocopiers to design and advertising clients in Manchester) and I was able to have a selection of copies from these to use for my college work reference.

Tony designed fonts, which were featured in the book, and also knew many of the type designers of the day who also had work in the book, and even the Creative Director, Phil Grimshaw. Other contemporaries of the day were Trevor Johnson, Lionel Hatch and Ben Casey, these were the icons of the day from Manchester for me and the kind of design environment my work grew up in, in addition to David Hillman and Saul Bass and Herb Lubalin, in fact the type poster of Lubalin's featured in the previous post closely resembles the poster which was on the wall above me in the studio at college for the next 3 years, next to this was Tony's own multiple font poster and the work of Phil Grimshaw.

The main thing for me looking back on this now was how at the time I took all this for granted. A large part of the way my work developed, my design style, my appreciation of the hand drawn font form, still sits within my current practice today. Letraset were the masters of the day, if you needed any dry transfer, whether it be type, images, tones, colours or markers, and spray systems, there were the leaders, long before Apple technology and long before Adobe, it was hand crafted, it was conventional and it was a skill you had to train for.