Movement Posters..

Antonio Gaudi

(art nouveau style buildings)
Heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau period, Antonio Gaudi appreciated and encapsulated the natural world, with gothic and medieval influences, to create masterpieces of architectural design. His style became one which replaced rigidity and straight lines, with an organic feel and sinuous, flowing form of design. "he studied natures angles and curves, and incorporated them into his designs and mosaics. Instead of relying on geometric shapes, he mimicked the way men stand upright"

(Gaudi's Buildings)

His fascination with shapes, colours and the structure of plants and rocks became part of his distinctive style as he developed an 'organic construction'. Clearly influenced by the art nouveau period, he uses and re used materials, and his buildings became representations of their structures and materials.

His mottos and examples of his works are evident through the work of Frank Gehry, who similarly goes beyond current modalities of structural definitions. He took common, unlovely elements of American homebuilding, such as chain link fencing, corrugated aluminum and unfinished plywood, and used them as expressive elements, while stripping the interior walls of the house to reveal the structural elements.

(examples of Gehry's work)

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright, a revolutionary architect who was greatly influenced by the modernist movement. He departed from the modernist movement, and added value to his work, by using the materials from the area of the project(as you can see in the image) creating a comfortable abode, that fit into the surroundings, and made the building work with the landscape.

Wright's main influence is said to be Louis Sullivan, who compelled Wright to "recognise that architecture was as much a social manifestation as it was an art". As his 'mentor' of sorts, Sullivan left an undeniable imprint on Wright stating that "the form of a building should express its underlying function" , he also encouraged and provided an example of daring, creativity, and independence of thought.

Similarly influenced by Japanese art, the Ward Willitts home (1902) clearly displays his fascination.

Also influenced by the Prairie style, Wright introduced gently sloping roofs, which captured the contours- "The horizontal line is the line of domesticity", he essentially 'married' his homes to the ground and the surroundings.

other things i found...

This is a bag i got from sportsgirl, its retro inspired and uses an image, but reduced down to a dot structure to for the image(which is what attracted me to it in the first place). It is loud, bright and reminiscent. The only text on it is "rewind, sportsgirl". The logo (being sportsgirl) uses the custom font, and the word "rewind" uses a simple sans serif, bauhaus style font.

This is a poster advertising "blanket" magazine. It uses various graphically designed pieces, and has them in a patchwork style blanket poster. The close up is an example if the difference in styles of all the pieces. The main font that is used is the type that appears in the top right hand corner, and is a basic san serif font, combined with the blanket logo (which uses a custom font).

#5

This week I came across a flyer (delivered by post) for Dymocks book store sale. It serves as a form of promotion, advertising, and to provide information to customers.

The front is fairly simple with only a few objects. The Christmas tree is made up of books, incorporating the company's (Dymocks) identity and products, and uses an outer glow effect, from the lights on the tree. It is personalised (hence the name 'maria' on the front) in a blocky but decorative typeface (comprised of stars), that is left aligned to the text underneath it. The text forms a hierarchy, with the smaller text being a simple serif font.

The logo in the bottom Right hand corner uses simple yet custom (visible in the "k and s") and the tagline, and incorporates a gradient and stylised bar that runs from the left side all the way across the bottom, directing the viewers eyes.

The back is text heavy, and left aligned, with two columns on the bottom half. The colours are comfortable, balanced and established. The use of the book shape again (that is evident in the logo) where the customers address would be, but reversed (being in white) reminds the customers of the company that this belongs to.

What attracted me to the piece was the irony of the tree made of books, and the simple yet effective form of advertisement. The graphic of the tree on the front that has incorporated the company identity, with a popular christmas decoration for the festive season :)

Graphic design in advertising.

#4

These examples were scanned from a book, titled "graphics alive", and was designed by Tsang Kin-wah.

It falls into the category of ''other'', and is a repetition of words in a pattern formation that lines the walls. Its bold, witty, organised and unique :)

In this case, the typography is the design. they have used (for the most part) a simple, blocky and san-serif font, that, despite its manipulation in to the shape of the design, is easy to read.

In the top two images, the artist has incorporated their cultural background by including asian characters and lettering.

The design is repetitive, and dynamic and at first glance not obvious in the sense that it doesn't look like words, but like a design and pattern. More of an illustration than text. It caught my attention because its not something i have seen before, and the simplicity of the concept (repetition) is contrasted by what is being repeated (the design).

#3

For this week's installation, i found a bag that i think incorporates graphic design into the categories of identity, packaging, and ''other'' because it serves a purpose, and isn't just something to look at.

It's retro inspired, colourful, loud and contrasting. Its function is to carry the products you would be purchasing from the shop.

The design itself is clean and simple (in the sense that it isn't overcrowded) and combines illustration(the lines and checkerboard segments) with images/photographs (the girl and the strips of crystals)

The photograph that has been included has itself been deep etched and edited (combining black and white with the colours on the girls lips etc..)

The typography is simple, and all CAPITAL letters. Furthermore, it hasn't been left or right aligned, but placed in 'text' boxes with a shadowed effect. The simplicity of the design is derived from the lack of text (only five words used in total.. "get the look" and the logo "payless shoes")

The thing that attracted me was the use of colours (and of course the shoes it carried;) ) and the fact that it isn't a boring design (like the Big W bag for example). It shows that it is a fashion product, or store by incorporating the image of the model. I also liked the fact that it was feminine, but also bold, and trendy, energetic, fun and playful.

However, though it is an eye-catching example of graphic design, it also depicts the store well, in the sense that the products aren't as expensive as some other shops. (e.g. it doesn't have a high class feel, but a more casual and comfortable feel)

applications of graphic design

(Pandora advertorial © Laura Tavella )

#2

The slurpee cups were picked up from 7-eleven, and i think fall into the categories of Promotion, Identity and packaging.

I spotted these when buying petrol, and thought they were pretty cool :)

The style of the design is loud, bold and uses contrasting colours (e.g. the blue and orange), giving it a fresh and energetic feel.

The contemporary design is mostly targeted to a younger audience (and features the younger audience, on the cups). It has a casual feel, which i think is fitting for a slurpee cup.

It uses several types of typography from (what feels like) hand drawn, to structured, to simple outlines. Most of it is not "typically" placed (e.g. not using columns, or placing it in lines across the cylindrical shape) but is casually and spontaneously placed.

The thing that attracted me to them are the colours and design that gives it a modern, contemporary feel. I like the fact that a disposable product has been designed, and it isn't just another take away container. I also like the fact that there is attention to detail... e.g. the logo hasn't been simply placed on the side, but has a little design around it to emphasize it. The little swirls and lines that direct your eyes around the cup and the fact that the design isn't structured but casual and spontaneous also drew it to my attention. :)