Logo Designs

Def Jam Recordings:

Def Jam Recordings is an American record label that mainly focuses on hip hop and urban music. It was founded by Isaac Rowlatt- Harrod who released the first single from the record label with is 'punk-rock group'; Hose. The record label is owned by Universal Music Group as well as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group. The record label is also operated through other places such as the UK, where it operates through Virgin EMI and is known as Def Jam UK. It also operates through Universal Sigma Music where it is named Def Jam Japan. Def Jam has signed many singers, and five in particular who helped it become the number one record label in 2012, for having seven number one hits. These artists are: Kanye West, Jay Z, Ne-Yo, Rihanna and Justin Beiber. 

In 2001 the record label became increasingly relevant around the world, which was when Lyor Cohen announced Def Jam Germany as the first international Def Jam Company. After that, another international Def Jam label was announced and was named: Def Jam Japan, where artists such as: Al, Nitro Microphone Underground and Teriyaki Boyz were signed. Then in 2003 Def Jam recordings was known as an overarching record label with Def Soul below it. The following year, Roc-A-Fella Records was sold to the company at the same time Kanye West's career had launched. Before the record label had launched world wide, in 1998 and 1999 rapper DMX helped the company as he was able to sell millions of records and made hip hop become relevant again. During that period Cohen had left IDJMG to join Warner Music Group and was then replaced by L.A. Reid. Whilst this was happening there was a 'bidding war' for Jay Z's contract and L.A. Reid announced Jay Z as the president of Def Jam.

Out of the record label's my class and I analysed, my favourite would be Def Jam because the genre of music it has is more relevant to me, as I listen to the music by the artists signed to the label. 

The logo has an urban look to it due to the graffiti effect of spray paint which shows that the label supports urban music mainly. 

Another record label that we analysed was Ministry Of Sound. Ministry Of Sound is a London based night club as well as a record label and t-shirt brand. It came seventh in the 2013 DJ Magazine. 

Ministry of Sound is owned by Versha Ministry who shares the buisness with a man named James Palumbo who is the Chairman. The record label has sales up to £80 million, globally and has 500 employees worldwide. The statement they have created as an aim for their company is: "to create the moments that people live for. The company co-owns Ministry of Sound Australia Hussle Recordings and also owns brands such as: Hed Kandi, Euphoria and Hard2Beat. 

Ministry of Sound has a network of international labels, having offices in Australia, Germany and the United States. The record label was established in 1995 and released 'The Annual' which is a compilation album of a range of dance music tracks, mixed by UK DJ's; Boy George and Pete Tong. 

The actual logo as well as the name seems as if it relates to the British King due to the symbol at the top, which then relates to a phrase 'ministry of justice' which may be a message the label is trying to bring across. The 3D style makes it seem more contempary, and urban due to the style of music released with the label. I have also noticed that the colour of the symbol depends on the music the record label is presenting/supporting.

Logo Types

In class we used this sheet to help us understand the different logo types there are. Using this we created our own logo based on one of the types. I decided to create a wordmark type because it reflects the simplicity of The Weeknd and his music. 

Egg Packaging Task

To test our packaging skills, we had to create a container to protect an egg when having a heavy book being dropped on it, we were only allowed to use specific material; paper, staples, glue or sellotape. In order to create good packaging I had to know which areas of the egg were most vulnerable to breaking and discovered that it was the top and the bottom. Therefore I created a triangular prism with a squared bottom to mainly protect the tip of the egg, preventing the bottom for getting damaged. 

I also researched different kinds of interesting egg packaging designs to help make my decision. Here are some examples: 

These are all examples of triangular shaped packaging that influenced my design. Unfortunately my packaging wasn't a success as the egg broke after the first trial of dropping a book onto it. I believe that it would have been a success if I had used stronger material, for example: card. I will apply this knowledge to creating my album case and use card to ensure that the cd is well protected. 

V&A Illustration Awards

This is my favourite illustration piece from the V&A Illustration Awards exhibition. This piece is a part of a collection called The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories. It's my favourite due to the idea it portrays. I love the way that there is a faint portrait in the background which the women holding the bars has 'come out of'. The different tones of paint colour suggests that the women has come out of the painting and brought to life, but as she cant realistically come out of the painting, it's as if she is trapped in the painting, like someone in jail behind bars.

The illustrator of this painting has quoted 'As part of my final year negotiated illustration programme, I created illustrations to the brief set by the House of Illustration competition - illustrating three of the short stories from Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. The three images depict scenes or quotes from The Bloody Chamber, Puss-in-Boots and The Company of Wolves.'

Billie Jean In-depth Analysis

Context:
Billie jean, also known as Sam Piyasena as a well known graphic designer who his famous for his design for the Nike Campaign in France, 2004 where he designed a vintage style of Nike trainers in attempt to revolutionise fashion, mainly with the younger population, which is shown on the poster above. This poster consists of various drawings of things relating to Nike that he may have seen over the past 30 years. 

Meaning:
The theme of the poster is old school, vintage style street basketball which presented the Nike brand as a company that is 'in sync' with the youth back then, and the street lifestyle. This reputation that they had towards the public allowed them to relate to the 70s way of life.

Aesthetics:
Billie Jean has used graph paper and a biro pen (classroom equipment) very effectively as he has used these to draw doodles which creates a sense of a child like memory as it resembles a child in a classroom doodling on a piece of paper as a result of boredom. This creative retro theme that he has created, allows his poster to relate to the youth, which is his target market. Another important aspect of the poster is the large drawing of the vintage style trainer, which is the central piece as it is surrounded by the doodles. The composition of his drawings confirms the fact that he is mainly promoting the vintage trainer in the middle, using the doodles around it to remind the public of the retro theme the design comes. 

Personal Response: 

Typographic Posters Inspired by the 51st Grammy Awards Posters

51st Grammy Awards Posters:

Bob Marley

Rhianna

Tom Yorke, from Radio Head

All of these posters have been made to advertise the 51st Grammy Awards, the portraits have been made out of text which consists of lyrics and song titles of the artists (Bob Marley, Rhianna and Tom Yorke) favourite songs.

I decided to create an image after being inspired by these posters; I used my favourite song artist, Frank Ocean and created a typographic portrait using the lyrics from one of his songs, using the video tutorial below.

My experiments:

Rob Ryan In-depth Analysis (Paper Cutting)

This paper cut was made by Rob Ryan, a Paper cutter artist who is British and born on 5th November 1962, he also does screen-printing, drawing and painting, but is particularly well known for his 'detailed paper cuts'. As a student, he studied at Trent Polytechnic and achieved a Master of Arts in printmaking from the Royal College of Art, where he graduated in 1987. His artwork has previously featured in Vogue, Elle and Stylist magazines and has worked with Paul Smith; a fashion designer. He has also illustrated book and album covers for 'The Book of Lost Things' by John Connolly; Erasure's album: Nightbird; 'The World to Come' by Dara Horn, and many more. One of his most known books is called 'This Is For You' and was his first book, published on October 4, 2007 which is a fairytale told through paper cut-outs.

This paper cut out was made by Rob Ryan to be displayed at the Windows of Liberty, which is a special window with decorations for Christmas. I like the way that Rob Ryan creates paper cut outs so detailed for example; the photo at the top of the page. I think it's very creative how he has created one image with different shapes, linking them altogether. This art piece shows a bird on a tree branch, holding another branch with its beak as it ties the two human figures together. I believe that he has thought carefully about the aesthetics of the art piece as he has created a calm scene using a calm colour as the background in which the shadow of the cut outs appear.