ItsNiceThat Monthly Brief Inspiration

Whilst scrolling through Instagram today, I came across a post from ItsNiceThat about the Monthly Brief that was set for January; "Make a sculpture using only objects on your desk" the Monthly Brief best picks were chosen by Michelle Maguire.

'Each month we’re inviting creatives from across the world to invent creative briefs which everyone, no matter your talents, can get involved in. At the end of week the best of the bunch are featured right here on It’s Nice That' before seeing the post, I didn't know that ItsNiceThat set monthly briefs, this has encouraged me to regularly check what briefs they set each month to keep myself inspired and to discover new ways of working.

I found this brief really interesting, in terms of how composition played a huge role in how the photographs and sets looked. I also found it interesting how you can tell what someones personality/hobbies may be purely by objects that they had on their desks; prawns, paperclips, rocks, balloons, chattering teeth, flowers etc. I want to get more into researching set designs when taking photographs of objects or photographs in general, as I really enjoyed looking at these pieces.

“These sculptures, I think, best evoke the spirit of the brief. They feature precarious balancing acts and a bit of tension, are a tad oddball, have eye-pleasing palettes, and combine visually rewarding objects. Nicely done.” – Michelle.

These are three of my favourite picks out of Michelle's picks; 

1. @iamblueiampink

2. @intercombrandstudio

3. @candy_hutton

Presentation Critique

Today I presented my short self branding presentation in a small group critique. The presentation consisted of the name/title, pay off, description, inspiration, where I'd like to work, who I'd like to work for and initial ideas. I found the critique really helpful and relaxed as I was just able to talk through my ideas briefly and listen to what Penny thought worked well and what needs improving;

• Add more of the personality flavour from the pay off into the description; go into more depth with it
• Try and make the first slides more visual (the mind maps etc) e.g. where it says things that I love; for makeup I could show images of makeup artists that really interest me, for partying I could show photographs from me on nights out with my friends, for summer I could show photographs that I took at festivals last summer. Just be visual with everything, its more interesting
• Where I have listed the brands that Hattie Stewart has worked for, show the work!
• Narrow down the mind map ideas to make it more punchy and fresh
• Could add/create gifs or videos into the presentation to as an extra bit of flavour
• The name works well (Lavi) - the idea of using my nickname because thats what my friends call me, makes it snappy and personal
• The visual photographs work well with the explanations I said, e.g. the photographs of what I'd what my workplace to look like
• Good quote used from Big Active; 'one thing I'd always say is that enthusiasm without experience is better than experience without enthusiasm'
• The article/interview research that I did is really good (interviews of the designers I'd like to work for); seeing what these certain employers look for in a candidate in the real world
• I could show the style of designs that I like compared to designs I really don't like

A slide that worked well:

A slide to improve (showcase the information more visually with photographs and inspiration):

Presentation Ideas

I am going to present my initial ideas for my self branding tomorrow in a short 5 minute critique in a group of 8. It is important that I get my aesthetic, aims and ideas across clearly throughout this presentation, this includes; the initial sketch ideas/brain storms to do with my personality characteristics, a title, a pay off, a description, who i'm trying to communicate with/who inspires me, where I'd like to work and why.

I started by brainstorming ideas for a title;

• My first thought was to use my first name 'Laveeza' as it is snappy, professional and easy, also because my name is very unique as I have never met anyone with the same name as me. 
• Also, since my name is very original and different, people often name puns that relate to it; my favourite being 'Living Laveeza Loca' (relating to the song livin la vida loca) this idea is fun and quirky. 
• However, in the end I decided to go with 'Lavi' (my nickname) I think using my nickname instead of my full name makes it more personal, its also what my close friends and family call me.

For the title slide 'Lavi' I chose to cut out letters to spell it instead of using a pre-made typeface as I love the art of collage; this shows my work aesthetic straight from the first slide.

For my tagline, I stuck with the idea of keeping it personal; getting my personality across while at the same time keeping it snappy; 'The girliest girl you’ll ever meet, lover of Hattie Stewart and cats and always up trying new things and having fun within the work I create' However, i'm not sure if its formal enough so I'll ask for opinions in the critique tomorrow.

For my description, I am going to speak about how I am eager to learn and meet new people as my dream would be to work in a big team where I am constantly learning and sharing ideas and inspiration with others. I will also mention that I like design work that consists of a lot of energy and excitement.

Furthermore, it is also important for me to summarise the type of environment that I'd love to work in; is it a studio with a big team or do I want to work in a little studio independently?

• I want to work in a big design agency; e.g. Big Active
• Big team; constantly inspired, bringing in new ideas and sharing
• Enthusiasm 
• Sociable place
• Bright, colourful, funky!
• Youthful
• Exciting by the moment you walk in

Big Active Research

From the list of my 5 favourite designers/design companies that i'd love to work for, I have begun to research more into one of the design consultancies that I listed; Big Active. When creating my self branding work, it is important to find out why these designers do what they do, what inspires them and what they look for in a candidate.

I found an interesting article where Gerard Saint from Big Active answers questions that they are frequently asked when Big Active is looking for 'The Ideal Candidate'. Gerard Saint is a creative director at Big Active.

From the article, one of the most important thing that I learnt was that when people are first starting out, they care more about enthusiasm than experience; 'I'd always say that enthusiasm without experience is better than experience without enthusiasm' its important to come across as passionate about what you want to achieve! I believe theres no point in doing something that doesn't excite you.

Throughout the article, Gerard also mentions how its important to have a life outside of the design; its important to bring the energy from outside and the things you do for fun, into the studio environment to keep it fun, new and entertaining always.

He also mentions how its important to be yourself; 'I think that there's nothing to be gained from being too cool for school or full of shit—just be enthusiastic, honest and be yourself' I strongly agree with this, you can't pretend to be something that you're not, its important to stay true to you because thats what'll make your happy in the work place; this will reflect on the success of your design work too.

Some of the work/artists that they represent; (I love it all!)

Ideas Refining

Today I have begun to refine my ideas for my self branding project. After yesterday, I was a little bit stuck, in terms of what ideas to use from yesterday within my work and what to research, however after speaking to Penny this morning, I have a stronger understanding on the project and the aims.

Pennys advice was to "begin with the end in mind" and to think thoroughly about these three questions; 1. Who for? 2. Why? 3. Where? Penny also explained that I should think big! this is the time to be imaginative and let my thoughts run free.

I first started to think about where I'd want to work if it could be anything/anywhere in the world; I'd like to work for big graphic design companies and agencies, somewhere big, fun, vibrant and youthful. Somewhere I could collaborate and meet loads of fun, interesting people that like to work in the same way as me. I then thought about who I'd want to work for; my favourite artists! My all time favourite artist is Hattie Stewart, her aesthetic is the type of graphic design/illustration work that I am into, the aesthetic also reflects on where i'd want to work; fun, vibrant and full of energy. I begun to think about how i'd go about communicating with the artists that interest me... 'I want to know...' 'I have 5 quick fire questions for you' 'I am interested in how you...' I need to think about what I want to learn from the artists that interest me, why do they interest me?

Furthermore, a creative consultancy that relates to the type of work I am interested in and people that i'd want to work with is Big Active. Their areas of specialisation include art direction, graphic design, content production and the representation of leading image makers. A very interesting and useful fact that I found out was that they promote and represent the work of Hattie Stewart, this fits in perfectly with my ideas and research. I now need to find out why they chose to represent her. Another artist that I discovered and was inspired by through Big Active was Mat Maitland, another example of the type of designer i'd love to work for.

I have started to research into which companies Hattie Stewart has been an in-house designer for, in order to generate some general knowledge on the type of brands I could/would want to work for and what to aim for;

• Apple Music Festival
• Mac Cosmetics
• V Magazine 2016
• Vogue
• Dazed 2016
• CR fashion book 2016
• Playboy
• i-D Magazine
• Pop Magazine
• The Face

These are all brands/companies that I would also love to design for and work with!

List of my 5 favourite artists/agencies that relate to where I want to be and that I'd love to work with;

• Hattie Stewart; illustrator and graphic designer
• Big Active; D&AD award winning creative consultancy
• Laura Callaghan; illustrator
• Burnt Toast Creative; illustrator/animator
• Mat Maitland; film maker/photographer/graphic designer

Mr Bingo Lecture

Today as a group we watched a half an hour lecture by the illustrator Mr Bingo, this allowed me to see what makes a presentation fun and entertaining; it didn't feel like I was watching a typical, serious lecture. As well as illustrating, Mr Bingo also raps about himself and his work through humour; he gets his aims and personality across in a short rap video in a quirky, non-serious way.

Throughout the lecture he talks about how he's never satisfied with the work he creates, but this is a good thing, he'd never want to be just 'satisfied' with his work as thats not fun? he likes being able to change and create constantly. I also found it interesting that he interacts with people personally through his work; he does this through sending funny hate mail to random people (although this many not be humorous to them people). He started by sending the mail to random people, but then people began to pay him to send them hate mail as it was so funny and successful. I like that he made something so big out of just a bit of fun.

I really enjoy his style of working as it is so unique; the immaturity through humour is what has made him so successful, I think sometimes as designers we are afraid to experiment with this type of thing, I like how much he expresses himself. Furthermore, I also love the aesthetic of his illustrations; simple line/tone drawing, often just black pen on white paper.

Studio Brief 3: Self Branding

Studio Brief 3; To design, develop and produce self branding that effectively communicates and promotes me as individual, designer and learner. To inform my design decisions, I should reflect upon my learning aspirations and design direction.

My first initial thoughts about the brief were that it sounds like a really fun and exciting project to work on, while at the same time a little bit challenging. I think it's quite challenging as its hard to brand yourself as a person, as you never really think about what you're like in terms of how you come across to others. 

In order to make the task of generating initial ideas easier, in groups of 4 we brain stormed a bunch of ideas together that we associate with each other. We did this in 2 different groups of 4; the first group was with close friends that we already knew really well, and the second group was with people that we don't often speak to.

The brainstorm that was generated by my close friends;

The brainstorm that was generated by people I don't usually speak to;

I found that the brain storm that was created by my close friends was a lot more personal, humorous and accurate to what I am like as a person. On the other hand, the brain storm created by people that I don't usually speak to was more based on peoples first impressions of me; dress sense, makeup etc.

I then made a list of a few points/ideas that I want to develop and take forward with me from the two brainstorms;

1. Really extra makeup/nice makeup/get up early to do full face of makeup every morning

2. Love sesh/getting drunk and partying

3. Would be a cat if I had to be an animal, I love cats

4. Always on edge/stressed out about something

5. Always getting lost on a night out

From this list, I have begun to come up with some ideas of how I could use these personality characteristics within my self branding: 

Visit to the Hepworth Gallery

Today, me and a few of my friends took a trip down to the Hepworth Art Gallery in Wakefield, this was my first time visiting the gallery which made it more exciting. We planned this trip in order to keep ourselves inspired while at the same time hoping to discover some new artists that can be referenced in future work if appropriate. This was also a nice day out as I enjoy visiting galleries regularly.

The gallery consisted of work by famous artists which include Barbara Hepworth, Picasso, David Hockey and Ben Nicholson. It was interesting to actually see the work of Ben Nicholson in person; I have referenced him in previous work, I felt that his work was more intriguing in person as images off google don't do it justice. I also really enjoyed seeing work the work of Picasso as he is an artist that I have always loved. However, there was a lot of work by artists that i'd never heard of, these pieces were more interesting to me.

This was one of the installations that I really enjoyed looking at, as soon as I walked into this room I felt intrigued by this piece. The ceramic mushrooms were created by the artist Serena Korda; Daughters of Necessity, they were then hung from the ceiling in interesting composition. These mushroom ceramics had been fitted with contact microphones in order to capture the natural sounds and vibrations of the ceramics while hung in the room. Korda is interested in the relationships between ancient cosmology and theories of quantum physics. 

This is another piece that I loved at the Hepworth Gallery; Sunken Line, 2015 by Clare Woods. Her work focuses on often overlooked elements of landscape such as rock formations, natural pools, twisted vegetations etc. Colour palette is also a huge key element to how her work looks so striking and abstract; the contrast between the colours with the squeegee like marks work extremely weIl. I think another reason why this was my favourite piece at the gallery was because her work reminds me of the work of Fiona Rae; one of my favourite artists.

More pieces at the gallery that I found interesting;