Guest Speakers

9th October 2014

Howard Sooley

Our first guest lecturer was Howard Sooley, a Professional Photographer, gardener and film maker. He spoke to us about his work, his life growing up and how he believed photographs should be taken. 

He began by showing us extremely close up photographs of leaves. Take pictures of the things that are usually overlooked. Close of photographs to capture even the smallest details that are often unnoticed and overlooked. Each leaf was completely different. Different colour, shades and veins. Some had been ripped and some looked perfect. The photographs almost told a narrative. They could show what that single leaf that been through.

Photographs tell stories. There should always be a memory or meaning behind everyone of your photos. Lighting, shadow all creates moods. By slightly changing a photograph you can dramatically change its mood and meaning.

Think about what's interesting in the photo. Always show emotion through your pictures.

23rd October 2014

Abram Games

We attended a talk about Abram Games, a poster designer. The talk was given by Abram's daughter Niomi Games.

Very Simple. Everything must be so simple. Simple enough to work small and simple enough to understand. Games would ask his children what they saw in his work. He thought that if his work was simple enough for children to understand then a audience could too. 

 He worked freelance for most of his life. "I will be my own master and my own slave".

Games is most commonly known for his airbrushing and war posters. He was constantly told that his work was far too modern. He was far ahead of his own time. It makes me wonder where he got his inspiration from. He was often let down by clients and businesses as they weren't ready for such modern work. I feel that Games work would work perfectly now in the 21 century.

When Games was sent to work for the army he noticed that the other men didn't clean themselves correctly. He wanted to make a poster to illustrate to the men how to be clean.

 Games created over 100 different war posters while he worked for the army. Although he wanted to be on the front line and fight and he told his posters helped so much more then he could help by fighting.  

Although he was the son of a photographer he didn't like to use photographs within his work. He only ever used a photograph once to create lines. He did this by taking a picture of window blinds.

Games used hands a lot within his work. He could show emotion and direction through a hand.
He never did more than one design. He only ever would bring one design to a client or business and they didn't like it then he wouldn't do anymore. 

You don't have to like his posters. You have to notice them. He designed posters that would be noticed and get a message across.

As well as poster design Games also created a coffee machine in 1950. He also created the first BBC indent with the help of his students at the Royal Collage of Arts.

His daughter felt he could be summed up in one of this posters. The Anti Smoking poster because it's simple, uses few colours and gets a message across. 

I really like Games idea that your work should always be simple and easy to understand.

30th October 2014

Mason Wells

Today we had guest speak Mason Wells talk to us about his work and his company. He first spoke about his past, having worked at Forrow, North in 1996 and now currently working at Biblotheque a small self made Design company.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Masons talk was that he spoke about and showed you the process he and his partner went through when they were given a project.

He says that design isn't about creative thinking, it's about Intelligent creating.

He talked us through the process he took for one of their projects:

After meeting with their clients and being briefed on exactly what they needed to do they researched their competitors. Other company, their logos, what the stand for. So they knew what they had to compete with.

They then researched their target audience. Who and why?

Their brief was to create a whole new Identity for the company Multinet, which also meant a new name. After lots of research and design they came up with two. The words were both made up so would be easy to trademark.

Then they started to play around with type, font, size, colour. It has to look a certain way for a reason. The logo had to work with the brands meaning and identity.

Finally they came up with two designs. They photoshoped these on merchandise so that their client cane get a better idea of how it will look.

One of the pieces of advice Wells gave us is to never think you're finished as you could always do more.

Even though they had done what the client wanted they then began to play with the idea of making the logo interactive. They went ahead and created an ipad app where the user could pull and deform the logo 'Ollo'.

Out all the the design Wells showed us the Ollo as a moving image amazed me the most. I though making the logo interactive was really clever and different. I would love to try out more concepts like this, creating apps and doing something interactive.

Mason went on to show us more of his work. Another one that I really liked was for MAP. Where they based the whole design around a dotted grid. They also played with the word MAP being an acronym.

Overall I was very inspired by Wells talk. I really enjoyed his work and the fact that he walked us through his process of design.

6th November 2014

Physicality is a Human Language

Today's lecture was completely different to our normal guest speakers. Usually they would come in and tell us about their life and workings. However today we were given a talk on the psychology of Graphic Design. I enjoyed this lecture much more then the usual as I feel it was much more interesting and insightful. 

The topic of the lecture was on Physicality and how Physical objects compare better to Digital. 

Physical Objects have qualities: Size, substance, format, shape, material, texture and weight. 

We learn the physical properties without thinking. 

"Thinking is to humans as learning is to cats". 

                                       - Daniel Kahneman

We make 1000's of subconscious decisions everyday, very few that we actually think about. 

The language we don't think about (anymore)

-Speech

-Text

-Imagery 

-Objects

You have to engage your mind for pictures and text. 

Consequences of Digital Technology:

1. Attention because scarce and thus valuable (too much information) 

2. Physicality emerges as something distinct. 

3. It making us less intuitive

Once photography was invented painter no longer needed to paint information, they could paint how they felt, with emotion. Painting became much more important. 

Painting is a physical object in itself. 

Object as consumer items:

1. Functional  value (what the object does)

2. Exchange (how much it costs/sells for)

3. Symbolic (it's purpose)

4. Sign Value (how does it compare to other objects) 

Object as consumer items have qualities: Scarily, emotion, ownership, culture association, time and history, origin etc... 

Digital vs Physical 

Digital is easy to copy, once you send it the recipient will always have it and can recreate duplicates. 

Physical things are valuable. Objects have stories that give them life. You can't copy them (most of the time)

Tracey Emin - My Bed was burnt in a fire. She said she couldn't go through the emotion to re-create the piece. The Chapmen brothers however could and created a representation of her piece called 'The same but better'. 

The Endowment Effect 

A test about ownership. A group of people were given an object for a certain amount of time (hours/days). They were then asked how much money they would sell the item back for. Ever time the price would almost double from what it is actually worth because they became attached to it.

We have two sides to our brain - Logic and Intuition 

Fast decisions, we interact with technology without thinking about it. 

Theatrical retail experiences (shop windows and decor) alternative to shopping online. 

Experience is more valuable. 

In fluent mindset when shopping. 

Objects are like us, defined in a physical space. One of the first things we do as infants is interact with objects. 

Objects are intimate, we become attached, they become sentimental to us. 

Wabi-Sabi: As an objects ages they become dignified, an object will die just like we will. 

The Power of physicality. We call our possessions are belongings.
An object can be a reflection of ourselves.
1. Physicality is a complex language.
2. Objects are like us, the reflect our identity.
3. Physicality and emotion are intertwined.

Warm drink vs Cold drink Experiment

When given a warm substance to hold the person would give a more positive comment compared to when having held a cold one. 

Physicality is the most direct way to communicate emotion to humans. 

Library's will becomes museums, google will become a Library and books will become objects...

13th November 2014

Craig Oldham - The Oldham Goddard Experience

For today's lecture our guest speaker was Graphic Designer Craig Oldham. Too often the Designers that come in to give us talk take themselves very seriously, Oldham defiantly does not.

Everything unless made by nature has been designed. Everyone has the capability to create.
Find a solution to a problem that's the essence of design. 

People are naturally creative. Oldham showed us simple street art and graphite that people have done not to be creative but it is.

Not being prepared to mess up, not experimenting enough. You are allowed to get it wrong because then you will learn from your mistakes.

Always question everything. Every problem has a solution.

"The degree to which a designer has style is the degree to which they haven't solved the problem".
                                              - Charles Eamez

Designers are too busy trying to show off.
-Empathy
-Insight
-Knowledge
-Experience
-Observation

There's a difference between information and knowledge. Knowledge is know what to apply it.
There's a difference between looking and observing. Always observe.

It's always better to be the person asking why, ask questions. It makes life more interesting.

Better to be looking at it then for it.

Observing will fuel your creativity and your process.

Work that focus you to engage with it:
-Connection
-Appropriation
-Manipulation
-Innovation
-Creativity

Design isn't just about making something look good. Sure it's a big part of it but it has to work. You don't have to like it, it just needs to work. Problem Solving.

Find your problem - Find your solution. If you haven't found a good solution you haven't found the problem.

Design is a means, not an ends.
Its a vehicle for communicating something.

Take risks, experiment. Keep hold of the element of play. As soon as it becomes a job you'll lose interest.
Success on someone elses terms is not success. Failure on your own terms is success.

You get better by messing up.
Don't just read about design, watch films. Things that interest you.

If you get the idea, the way it looks will present itself. 

Think in a problem solving way. Get an idea then figure out how to get there.