... and then destroying it!

building a 3D letter ...

iconic photograph

On Friday I have a photography workshop where I have to readjust an iconic photograph. The picture I chose is one from Irving Penn that was also used as a cover for Vogue in 1950.

I really like it because of its high black and white contrast. What I also find really interesting is that the longer you look at it the clearer the proportions get. F.e. the way how the white bond of the hat is arranged to white scarf looks very aesthetic to me, it actually builds the form of a T. While the whole composition looks like a triangle to me.

I'm looking forward to that shoot, just have to find a proper hat! Anyone got one by chance? :)

Introduction To Study In Higher Education

... was the issue of our first logo/symbol we had to create, based on our own

personal mission statement.

I chose the word "connect" as a starting point, because I think that it's very important to be in connection with your environment in order to define yourself and the work you're doing.

First thing to do was to come up with 100 logos.

Second thing to do was to refine the one that was chosen by our tutors, which, in my case, was the arrow based on negative and positive spaces.

I didn't really know how to start with my refinement, so I just experimented with the textures

in the beginning.

I soon got the feeling that playing around with the texture would probably lead me nowhere, so I focused on the black shapes and how else they could be arranged but still having the same meaning.

And this was the final outcome.

"The symbiosis of the two black forms builds a third form, which is the arrow pointing up. This is also what the course means to me, an interaction of two parts (me and other people) to therefore get good outcomes."

I am passionate about ...

... CHEESE

Last week we had to do a 3 min presentation on something we're passionate about. I chose cheese, because I just can't live without it. Seriously, sometimes I even think I'm addicted to it, as I'm freaking out when I know that there's no cheese in my fridge ... anyway... I found this video some days ago on youtube and couldn't sop smiling. It's so sweet! Enjoy ;)

letterpress workshop

On Friday I was at the letterpress workshop in Hoxton. We were setting letters for the "Cockney Alphabet", which is a parody of the way the alphabet is taught to small children. Designed to be recited, the humour comes from forming unexpected words and phrases from the names of the various letters. Every student was chosen to set one letter, I did "L for leather".

Since I've been studying graphic design I've only done things on my mac so far. That's why it was really new to me to actually do design by hand. And I have to say that I loved it! I think it's such a great feeling to hold real letters in your hand, set and print them! Much better than just sitting in front of your laptop all day long. It was a very nice change and I'd love to work with letterpress more often!

Design Museum - Drawing Fashion Exhibition

Day off - sh.. weather - what (besides staying in bed) better can there be than going to an exhibition ...

So .. today I went to the current exhibition at the Design Museum. It was about Fashion Illustration of the 19th and 20th century. Very interesting and inspiring, there were many drawings that gave me new ideas for my own illustrations, fe including printed patterns etc

I couldn't quite connect to the first part of the drawings though, probably because it's just not my style.

One of my favourites is the cover design for Vogue in 1929 by Georges Lepape. I love the composition and how he played with the font, although for me the V was a little bit difficult to recognize. At first glance I thought it was a G.

What I also realized today was that it's probably better to first have a quick view through all the work when being at an exhibition and then to focus on the work you're feeling connected to.

There's another exhibition upstairs about architecture. They have one room there with plain white walls and a bright wooden seating area. It somehow gives you the feeling of calmness and silence and I can understand now why they're also using it at mental institutions. ;)