what is graphic design?

1Think Graphic 01/2012

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2 Think Graphic 01/2012


01 Over the years Graphic Design has become a all embracing subject intergrated with other art disciplines from fine art, phtography, illustrationarchitecture to perfroming arts and music. Its orignial interpretation of design and print has not only become more evident and part of our every day life from TV adeverts, billboards, bus adverts news papers. We interact with graphic design everyday knowingly and unknowingly. The traditional beliefs of graphic design only consisting of typography and images has become loosely interpreted as each individual has their own idea of what graphic design is and resmbles and a faint line has been drawn between grpahic design and other art disciplines. To kick-start our first issue of Think Graphic we throw a spotlight on to what graphic design is to graphic designers and illustrators. We also examine the Pick Me Up art fair that took place between 22/03/2012 - 01/04/2012 at the Somerset House for the third year.

Features 6Practicality Usman Patel lot of elements make up design, one is practicality, how practical the designer and the design is. As well as being creative not just digitially but as an everyday practice.

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12 18Visits Pick Me Up Art Fair Pick Me Up, the UKs first annual contemporary graphic art fair returns for its biggest edition yet this spring.

Naked Words Each issue will contain an Inspiratonal qoute from a Art creative practitioner. This issue features a quote from graphic designer John McConnell

Abi Akinsaya Well, I dont have a F**king clue mate.

Complex Usman Patel Graphic Design is a broad term. These are some of the definations of what Graphic design means to the designer.


FINE ARTFASHIONANIMATIONMULTIMEDIAADVERTISINGPHOTOGRAPHYGRAPHIC DESIGNPERFORMING ARTS

NETWORKING QUIZ NIGHTPRESENTING..

CAPE BAR

THURSDAY 12TH APRIL 201218:30 - 22:30

THOMAS MORE SQUARE, NESHAM STREET, E1W 1YY

www.legonetwork.tumblr.comwww.facebook.com/legonetworks

FREEENTRY


Networking Quiz NightThe Cape BarThomas More SquareNesham Street Wapping LondonE1W 1YY Building Networks

12.04.20126.30-10.30pm

[email protected]://www.wix.com/legonetworks/eventshttp://www.facebook.com/events/360338840654785/http://legonetwork.tumblr.com/

FINE ARTFASHIONANIMATIONMULTIMEDIAADVERTISINGPHOTOGRAPHYGRAPHIC DESIGNPERFORMING ARTS

NETWORKING QUIZ NIGHTPRESENTING..

CAPE BAR

THURSDAY 12TH APRIL 201218:30 - 22:30

THOMAS MORE SQUARE, NESHAM STREET, E1W 1YY

www.legonetwork.tumblr.comwww.facebook.com/legonetworks

FREEENTRY


Practicallity

Usman Patel

Design is not all about sitting behind a desk and designing on a computer or laptop. Yes, the digital tool has evolved design and made it quicker and easier than before but lot of elements make up design, one is practicality, how practical the designer and the design is. As well as being creative not just digitially but as an everyday practice. Doing something which you think is design.


Designer in his second year of his graphic design degree at the University of East London has explored the notion of type and the expresses how crucial it is to design. Usman explains the importance of type to design Typography is a crucial element which must be used correctly and comes with many factors to consider when laying out the type. Lay-out of type and images is believed to be the psychol-ogy of design. A small subtle change in type whether it be kerning, leading or the typeface. It can change the outcome or he entire look of design. When looking at type one has to look at the minute detail and scrutanize the type in order to value the construction of type and how type works. This was a personal project in

creating an alphabet character as large as he could with limited sources of material. This requires attention to the smallest details which may deem to be unecessary. Choosing the typeface Bodoni, a classic serif typeface of such chracteristic, and the character L to create in his back garden as big as he could. He used two rolls of masking tape and a craft knife to create the details and curves. Simple masked out the letter mathematically on the floor and drew a rough outline with a white chalk. The masking tape was made sure to be stuck to the floor. The inside of the letter l was carved out and best efforts were made to resemble the actuall font. Four layers of the masking were created so that the chracter look as though it has been neatly

Layout of type and images is believed to be the psychology of design.

1.1. Photo taken as the letter was created on a grid. The concrete slabs were used as a grid.


and carefully painted on to the floor. The character could be said to resemble the typeface Bodoni of the letter L due to few flaws. Such as the curve was not able to be curved fully to look as a fluid curve and the stem could be argued to be slightly thin than then the Bodoni Typeface.

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2. Marking out measurements before sticking down masking tape. 3. Creating the curve of the letter L 4. Birdeye View of letter in contrast with the white and pink roses also showing the scale of the chracter5. Close View of the character


What is Graphic Design

* Graphic Design is a broad term.

These are some of the definations From Usman Patel

Interaction Visual Communication

Problem Solving

Visual Solution

to a problem

Intelligent Design

Creative Process

Something Complex

made simple

Why? Design with

reasons

Visual Language

Thinking

Globalisation Everything and

Everywhere

Information

Creating an

universal meaning

Revolution

Practicallity

Inspiring

Concept

Inovation


Pick Me Up, the UKs first annual contemporary graphic art fair returns for its biggest edition yet this spring. The fair showcases the best new work from around the UK and the world with original works and prints available to purchase. With loads of events and workshops for you to get involved with, expect eleven days of graphic mayhem!


be termed as. Many attemtps have been made to create a defination on what is design or what is graphic design. These collection of works allows us to make our own defination of what graphc art is. The workshops involves us in some of the creativity process that place in creating a piece of work and the experiment with different materials available. The fist piece of work exhibited to the audience upon entering the art fair takes the audience by amazement. The work of Yuko Michishita a series of hand drawn alphabets creat-ing an typeface that has been created by elements of wildlife and nature. A poster stating the words

Cotemporary Graphic art fair has already started at the Somerset House, Embankment Gallery. This year, 20 illustrators and graphic artists from around the world have been selected to show their work in the Pick Me Up Selects section of the show which visitors find immediately on entering the gallery space. Meanwhile, a host of collectives and galleries showcase their work and offer their wares for sale in a series of rooms upstairs. Workshops have also been in place taking the audience on a journey to experience the creativity these artists en-joy and pride themselves on. It will not be wrong to say the very much

anticipated art fair has exceeded its expectations of living upto its name and standards of the past two years of the fair since its inception in 2010. It has built upon the success of it previous two years provid-ing us with uniqe, extrodi-nary, wierd but interesting and intelligent creative designs. Always shocking us with new prints and work of designers at every turn giving each room its own voice and gloamour allowing the the work and the art fair for it to speak for it self. It is very hard to just depict a peice a work and say that piece is great and wonderful as all the work is great design taking the audience by suprise of how and what creativity and design could

6. (P.12-13) Pick Me Up Selects wall at the Enterance. 7. (Above) Poster/Banner of the art fair


details. Design studios that were been present during the fair and working on real time production with spectators also show cased their work and ran workshops thus interacting and communicating with the viewers. Such studios were Ship of Fools, the Print People and Print Club London and Soho Warriors. Other studios that were exhibiting work were Many Hands, Nelly Duff- wierd but intresting pieces of work, Soma- Bristol based print and design agency, YCN-design agency and A Two Pipe Problem- Letterpress and steel and wooden block letter printing.

overgrown informs the spectator of many problems which we may be facing such as the ruins of nature; derelict ruins of human civilisation being taken over by nature This piece exhibits elements of wild nature contained in a graphically conformed typeface, exploring the balance between nature and artificiality. The artwork was drawn my hand and than coloured digitally. Another artist that stands out from the crown ofintelligent design is Kristjana S Williams who creates many beautifullly intelligent and very detailed work. One work of hers not allow grabs the attention of the viewer by its clever construction of

the world map using animals that represents the conutries. At first the animals may not be seen but after a close viewing the animals become apparent as seems as though they are just sticker which have been stuck down but it is evident that the tiny animals have been painted by hand the entire art work is hand drawn and painted. Sarah Maycock created stunning water colour brush stroke paintings of animals using the concept of miniminimalism. The painting gave the idea that it were created with the least amount of brush strokes possible but still holding the necessary

8. Overgrown This piece exhibits elements of wild nature contained in a graphically conformed typeface, exploring the balance between nature and artificiality. By Yuko Michishita

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9. ENTOMOLOGICAL KALEIDOSCOPE created as the direct response to Yukos desire to visualise the creatures who silently but steadily crept into the internal cosmos of himself. 10. Le Cadavre ExquisPattern based illustrated typography.Hand drawn with pencils by Yuko Michishita.11. B for Butterflies & Bees A project to create a series of illustrations based on the alphabet. All the letters are hand drawn with pencils by Yuko Michishita.


15. Hjartar Tre (Heart Tree) Birds and butterflies making up the heart tree also known as family tree (Left) by Sarah Maycock . 16. (Above) closer view of Hjartar Tre by Sarah Maycock.

12. Dyragardurin(Map of the world) Animal making up the world map. Could also be related to as the animal world 13. Closer View of Dyragardurin (below)by Sarah Maycock.

14. Fidrildin 02 Fjolublat (Violet Butterflies) Smaller Butterflies Brought together to make a bigger ButterFly.By Sarah Maycock .

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17. Character design by Sarah Maycock for Luka & the Fire of Life book by Salman Rushdie . Winner of the Illustration Award 2010.

19. I like it, what is it? Special edition Anthony Burrill -Nelly Duff

18. Ship of Fools design work


NAKED WORDSThe mistake designers make is they forget the solution is in the problem

John McConnell


Think Graphic 01/2012

Front cover: Iluustration by Natalie Ramtohul. Adverts:LeGo Building NetworksQuiz Night12/04/2012p.4-5

Hermetica11/04/2012 p.17

EditorUsman Patel

Typography Title: Interstate Bold Size 48Text: Univers Size 12

P.3Introduction: UniversSize 16

ContentsNumbers: Rockwell Bold Size 30 Text: Interstate Light Size 9

P.8 and 12Side Text: Interstate Size 24

P.18Naked WordsTitle/Heading: Univers 85 Extra Black Size 24Text: Univers SS Roman Size 24Designer name: Univers 44 Light Size 24

Contributors to this issue Natalie Ramtohul illustration for front cover.

LeGo GroupBuilding NetworksNetworking quiz night p.4-5

Usman PatelPractical - Personal Type project; constructing a letter of a chosen typeface and large as possible.p.6-9

What is Graphic Design?Usman Patel p.10

Abi Akinsanya p.11

Pick Me Up Visit Review Usman Patelp.12-16 Photography by Usman Patel and images taken from the designers websites

Hermetica Poster by Ahmed Alip.17

Naked WordsQuote taken from Eye Magezine issue 81 vol. 21/Autum 2011. Interview conducted by John L.Walters


John McConnell By wanting to be intelligent, it usually gets simpler and simpler. The creative process is paring back all time. If you cant defend it, get rid of it. Thats what truns me on. How simple can you make it? Usually, creativity means showing off to your peer group, and creativity without intelligence is as dumb as it comes.

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