Miles Donovan

These two art pieces were created by an illustrator named Miles Donovan. His work has been used for various clients for editing and advertisments such as: Creative view (as shown above), Newsweek, The New York Times and The Guardian.  After looking at his work I was inspired to do my own type of 'Miles Donovan' experiment to add to my poster. I thought this would be interesting as my poster represents 'ease' and these types of images will not take away the meaning as they will add a fun aspect to the poster due to the use of the bright colours. To do this I will take photographs of music appliances and instruments to then adjust and manipulate using Adobe Photoshop to add colours and textures.This photo is one of his illustrations for the cover of 'Creative Review' and I have selected this to analyse as it has inspired me to use his technique for my outcome. I appreciate the use of composition with this artwork because he has created a central focus of the images which makes each aspect as important as each other. This technique conveys an idea that all aspects should be analysed and have purpose. He has also done this by adding vibrant colours (again, creating a sense of importance) and lines to the artwork on a black background with white writing, this allows the images to stand out. I will use this idea when creating my artwork and adding images to it. 

 The images of the microphone and headphones are my initial Miles Donovan inspired experiments where I used a tutorial on youtube to guide me. However due to the spacing and composition of the objects it was difficult to use the technique. As a result I developed my ideas by using a portrait photo, speakers and mixers I cropped them out of the original photos and placed them onto the background layer of the poster. I then adjusted the brightness and contrast and used the 'soft light' blending tool to blend them with the background. I used this technique to imitate Miles Donovans work. I think that this was more successful than the previous experiments I did as, although I originally intended on having bright colours for the images, I think the use of the blending tool was a better idea as too much colour on the poster would take away the meaning of the radio stations name. 

Poster artwork

Miles Donovan inspired experiment

Miles Donovan inspired experiment 

I have placed these images on the blog in support of the work that is already in my sketch book, as the printing quality is poor.

Kandinsky Digital Experiments

 

I have placed these two images onto my blog as support for the work in my book, as the printing quality effected the images. 

Si Scott; Influential Designer

Si Scott

Si Scott is one of my favourite graphic designers due to the fact that he creates handmade types (my most preferred form of design) of typography to express his views, which is a simple method that he adds great detail to with a combination of flowing patterns and fonts. He is an English graphic designer who was born in Leeds. Si Scott left school at 16 years of age and went to Leeds College Of Art and Design, where he now works as a lecturer. At the College, he studied a BTEC in Graphic Design as well as a foundation in Visual Communication which allowed him to move onto studying a degree in Graphic Design at Birminghamshire Chilterns University. When he completed his degree he stayed in London for 2-3 years where he worked for a number of clients whilst doing his own freelance projects. Over the years he has worked for a number of clients such as   Universal Music, Atlantic Records, NYC & GO, Space NK, Contagious, Sony BMG, The Guardian, Nike, Cocoa Cola and Diesel. 

This is one of my favourite pieces done by Si Scott. This is due to the fact that he has created an interesting piece using to simple contrasting colours. He has achieved this by adding artwork/patterns to the a phrase, which actually helps bring across the meaning of the phrase, which shows that this was a successful piece. Si Scott's work has inspired me to create a logo in the same style as this example because the patterns around the type help convey a particular mood, which also relates to the style of music my radio station is targeted at; including music by The Weeknd. The main genre that my radio station would supposedly play would be soul (which is the category that The Weeknd's music falls into), R&B and Hip Hop/Rap.

I have chosen to analyse Si Scott because I intend on incorporating his style of design with my typography for the logo I will create for my radio station; 'ease fm'. I have made this decision based on the fact that the music my station will play lies under the genre; slow jams and R&B. This style of music generally has a calm flow, putting you at ease, which is why I chose this particular word for my station. The Si Scott design I will add to it creates a visual connection between the style of music and the name, portraying a theme of tranquility. Although Si Scott incorporates alot of patterns within his typography, I will use a simple design so that the visual aspect of the logo will not take away the meaning of the actua word;'ease'. I can relate this artwork by Si Scott to my potential logo design because the design represents the word use; in this image he has incorporated alot of patterns of swirly lines going in various directions which is a symbolisation of the word; 'spreads'. In contrast to this I will draw a few lines almost as an underline for the typography which is simple and therefore relates to the word 'ease'.

BBC Radio 1 - existing example

This British radio station is operated by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), and focuses on chart hits as well as general popular songs within that period of time. It has been said that their target audience is the 15-29 age group. This station was established in 1967,where DJ Tony Blackburn was the first to broadcast on the new station, who was able to host the 'prime slot'; Radio 1 Breakfast Show. Throughout his shows he was the first presenter within the BBC to play music by American artists (which is what my station will suposedly play), which was to catch the attention of the audience as most people were already familiar with this style of music due to it being played on pirate stations by various DJs. When this radio station launched, it consisted of a variety of DJs, such as: Tommy Vence, Pete Murray, John Peel, Simon Dee, Annie Nightingale (Britains first female DJ) and many others. 

Unfortuately, towards the start of the launch it was an unpopular radio station and was not satisfying younger generations as much as alternative stations were. This was particularly due to the fact that the station had limited finances as the BBC did not extend the licence fee to fund the radio station. However, despite this, in the mid 70s BBC Radio 1 gained over 10 million listeners and became the most listened to station in the whole world. Radio 1's promotions also helped the stations audience grow massively. These promotions included the BBC Radio Weeks where Radio 1 had its own radshow (Radio 1 Roadshow).

 

This was the first logo designed for BBC Radio 1 when it was officially established in 1967,which uses a very simple design tehnique due to the era it was created in. I believe that this logo graphically conveys a particular message, this happens through the selected use of the scale of typography; the large 1 is the main focus which simply informs the public of the radio station, I also believe that there is a second meaning to the use of the number 1 which is that this is the number one station in england. I realised this intention as I noticed the fact that there are two number one figures being used; the background shape and in the title within the red rectangle. This emphasis of the number is what portrays this idea of it typically being BBC Radio 1, as well as an intended favourite radio station. 

 

This logo for the radio station was designed in the 90s where there was a rise of multicultralism as various movements spread across the globe such as: grunge, hip hop as well as the 'rave scene', which is why the design is different compared to the previous logo. Although the 90s was the 'time' for a mixture of bright, bold colours and geometric shapes (which I believe is the reason for the choice for the circle) used within one design, for example: clothes (as shown in the photo next to the logo) I believe that the designers of this logo only incorported one main colour, (red) as they had a varied target audience of people of different genders and personalities. 

Whilst analysing the BBC Radio 1 logo that was used in the 1990s along with the jumper (which has patterns that I believe inspired the design of the logo) I realised a connection with the art work of Kandinsky.

These two pieces of art work were made by the artist: Kandinksy. He is well known as an influenetial Russian painter, an art theorist as well as one of the first abstract painter. Kandinsky was influenced by a Russian occulist; H.P. Blavatsky, known as an exponent of theosophy which is a theory based on the idea that creation is infact the growth of geometric shapes. This is expressed through Kandinskys work as he incorporates ascending and descending circles, lines, triangles and squares.

I have decided that I will use this form of artwork for my poster as I believe it is a creative and expressive way to artistically create a connection with the music my radio station will play. This is due to the fact that I am creating a visual form of advertisment and I intend on allowing the public to get a sense of the mood the music will convey, before they listen to the music, this is almost informing them of the genre/s. 

I have done a variety of experiments that are place in my sketchbook, but I was mainly inspired by the second image on this page. This is because the colours and the background in particular conveys a starry night sky which portrays a calm mood which is what I plan to do with my art work. The contrasting colours create a sense of a twilight zone, with various sizes of pale toned circles. I inten to use this type of design where I will think carefully about the different sizes of shapes to convey the rhythm of the music; this will include various circle sizes, a lines to represent different stages of the music; small circes: slow beat and singing; larger circles: the climax.

 
After the 90s, this logo was designed for BBC Radio 1, and is the current logo being used for this station. Although technology has developed, this logo has been designed to be very simple and quite plain. I think that this is due to the fact that the target audience has expanded and therefore the designers have chosen to create something that satisfies all listeners. After observing the other BBC radio logos alongside the one for BBC Radio 1, I have noticed that they all have the same composition of letters, numbers and shapes. This design criteria makes the logo's easily recognisable and highly distinguished from other logos.