Iain BudgenActive Research

EGRD 3014

When asked to think about my current practice, the corethemes that are apparent are the confusion and hiding ofmessages. This series of images directly responds that, creating an isometric question mark and disguising itsshape and form.

More importantly, I wanted one piece of work to incorporate all of this. The core themes include:Pastel ShadesGeometricsSocial consciousnessConfusion

The isometric viewpoint is somewhat inspired by Mirai Mizue’s iso-metric animation video.

What do I represent?

This video was made in response to the second brief. I didn’t feel like I wanted to do anything stop motion or with film, and instead dabbled with flash again. I wanted something that conveyed a message about my work, hence the song choice (‘Shuf-fle on a Dream’ by Little Dragon). The concept of this video is that the words reflect people, originally in wire frame form but then hide the identity with consumerism. They eventually try and revert back to their original form. However, they can never completely achieve this as they are permanently damaged by success. As to whether or not this video was successful, I think the results are mixed. The visuals do not create a lasting impression, and the message is lost with the quick flashing images. However I do believe that the essence of the brief has been captured. Had I had known the brief would be extended to two weeks, I would have made it far more elaborate with full flowing animation and fleshing out the message a little more. I also think if I had skills to create this video in a different program other than flash, the result would have been very different.A large inspiration was the ‘All of the Lights,’ video directed by Hype Williams with its flashing text. Inspiration for the colour scheme with geometric frameworks owes credit to ‘Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay,’ also directed by Hype Williams.

Right - The original cast of letters created before the video. Collectively they all work quite well apart from the R, which, in hindsight looks too fleshed out by comparison. Also possible colour tweaks could be made, with the D potentially becoming pink.

Video work

Example screenshots of the video.Invidually the images stand out.

My last works had a strong focus on colour, with a colour scheme shunning black for pastel shades. After revisiting these, I stripped back colour to the basic primary pal-ette. They are all made with basic letter shapes, follow-ing a typeface I made a few years previously. This was the basis for the construction of these pieces. For initial simplicity it uses the RYB colour model as opposed to CMYK or RGB to make the thought behind them instantly recognisable. The work is certainly vibrant, and hides the message of the pictures behind it. By limiting the colour scheme however, it feels like there is only so much scope for invention and creativity and therefore it comes across in a very primitive light.By restricting the shapes as well, each resembling a let-ter in its simplest form it helps to do what I aimed for - to confuse and distort.

Left - Love 2Below - Primary LoveBottom Left - HateAcross- Revenge

Basis of colour for active research partly inspired by Pard Morrison

Colour exploration

Thinking about how art and design can be considered timeless, I worked against this, looking at making something relevant and possibly even fashionable. Coming across this palette was a good basis to continue my work. I find it an interesting theory that essentially design can be retooled with the seasons to re-main fashionable, no matter how iconic the image. The ‘revenge’ image (right), takes on a more mature tone when retooled in a different scheme. This idea of remixing and retooling an old piece has been inspired by not only the music world, but also by a forum member who remixed my old work. It showed me that work can be reinterpreted in a different way. I really discovered this by externalising my work (http://www.kanyetothe.com/forum/index.php?topic=51033.0) and getting feedback. The development of this colour scheme owes credit to the critque of my work. It is also great to get the opinions of people outside of university and friends/family.Unless stated, the rest of the portfolio uses this colour scheme in an attempt to create consistency.

With this piece, I think it completely changes the tone, making it softer, even romantic.

Colour exploration

All the previous images contain a message, whilst this next series focus on simple and repetitive patterns. I feel like this actually detracts from an interesting aspect of my work, and for that reason I revert back to becoming more cryptic. The colour again changes the perception of the images.

Above - Mmmm & Reflection RAcross - A pattern (Not using seasonal colours).

Colour exploration

This is to show my old process, and how I want-ed to do something with more purpose. Here in photoshop I would write what I intend to say.

Then I would pixelate it through the effects on photoshop, gener-ally fiddling around with the settings until I found something I liked, but with no real thought behind it.

Then, I would import into illustrator and live trace it, again messing with the settings until I found something pleasing. Statement (Left) wascreated using this pro-cess. But there is only so far it can be taken.

Design practice

Here, I attempted to try and make something a little more substantial. This was not created out of inspira-tion by anything, but instead its purpose was just to formulate an idea. Using a gridded system it is that simple. This was created working on the 8x8 gird on illustrator. It was the easiest way to create something tangible and believable in a short amount of time. As can be seen with the first draft, it was literally what was put down with little thought and consideration. The trouble is, it does not seem interesting or particu-larly pleasing to the eye. Maybe it is the shape, as there is a little variation and when looked at properly it is difficult to read. The second version was a re-vised edition of the first, trying to mix up the shapes somewhat. The vowels are also a darker shade to try and differentiate between the two. As a font it makes it a tad more effective but only as an illustrative font. I don’t think it could work any other way.

Bottom Left - I speak with tongue 4Bottom Right - I speak with tongue 2

Just two attempts to see how it would function as a font. It looks kind of clumpy and unstructured.

Cryptic font creation

ab

xwvu

tsrqponmlk

jihgfedc

zy

Here, I am demonstrating two botched attempts to try and refine and develop my previous statement. The reasons these were largely aban-doned was because they are not very engaging image wise and look almost awkward. The second typeface had a little more structure as it is built around an illustrator’s grid system. Therefore no line could be more than three squares long. The trouble was with letters such as ‘K’ or ‘V,’ and in order to make them work, it would have meant breaking such a code.Strangely, people have engaged with the first two version far more than the braille version. My braille typeface (Right) has been far more suc-cessful. Although a quick search online has shown it has been done before [2], I have yet to find an example which is not dot based. This is a digitalised version intending to confuse but with a basic knowledge of Braille, it should be easily understandable. In some ways, this goes back on my basic premise to make it cryptic. For that reason alone it is better for me to create a new typeface from scratch.

Cryptic font creation

Here is an attempt to make a cryptic text, beginning with a gridded system and drawing simple lines. The squares were created to differentiate the vowels from the rest of the alphabet. The second and third fonts are a refinement, trying to create a more consistent typeface taking into account letter shapes and form. The variation in shape was to try and create something more appealing when put into sentences. In a way, it is an evolution of the brail typeface made previously. How-ever, some of the letters are intentionally close so that only someone with a close knowledge of the type could understand it.

Cryptic typeface exploration

Taking further inspiration from different cultures, this is a look at the structure ofwords and how we read them. Firstly, instead of the text reading left to right, as is standard practice in the Western world, the text above reads right to left. Although the text is already illegible, it is a further attempt at encryption.The image to the right takes cues from Chinese writing, with text scrolling downthe page.As it is, the vertical text works much better than the right to left reading. Per-sonally, I am of the opinion that it is much more pleasing to the eye. Maybe it is the imagery of the text. I also feel it is much more convincing as a font in the real world.

Word structure

Furthering a certain interest in oriental culture, I took the construc-tion and layout of their signs and made a graphic interpretation, us-ing my own font with the structure of the text going from right to left. I also drew on a personal remembrance of a childhood computer game called ‘Wipeout 2097,’ and how the signs were represented there. Deep down there is an element of futurism there considering the lines and angles. To a point even the colours can be viewed in that light. The general aim was to create something that no-one has seen before - in the graphic design world at least. Looking at signs has made me come to the conclusion that this font could be different each time - the context and legibility could be down to the user. So although it is a digital typeface, it could be entirely organic.

Futurism & beyond

‘Love is cursed by monogamy’ (Left) is further exploration of the theme although I feel it is less successful. Personally there is something about the angle that is off. It would work a lot better as a paper sculpture.That being said, the colour scheme as selected previously really pays off. Finding a fresh scheme has been a constant challenge and something that has a lot of time put into it.

Just another girl spring colour 3 (Right) was created using the Pa-tone spring shade colour scheme 2012 (Left). Personally creating a font as it is it makes it easier to have a restrictive pallette to work from. In some respects, it spurs on more creativity, as I don’t believe some of these images would have been created as well as they have with no limitations.

Negative colourDeconstructionismThe deconstructionist trend in art was to question and to violate every convention and structure of classic art, to decontextualise meaning, and to discard or distort all of it’s recognizable elements - such as form and per-spective in the visual arts, melody and harmony in the auditory arts, plot and character in novels and plays, and rhyme and meter in poetry. Instead, these were replaced with irony and self-awareness, as novels referred to themselves as works of fiction, and paintings labelled themselves as works of art.

This is based around my dislike of using black in my work and on the sug-gestion during my critique I went against my will and explored the use of simple black and white. One thing I do like is how the words seem to just be suspended in nothingness and the focus is on them. It draws away from the largely visual approach I employed before. My favourite here is ‘Fucked by greed2,’ (Far right) working on a spotlight look. I think it is really bold and makes good use of the darkness. I wanted to punish the viewer with more than just breaking the code, but with com-plete distortion of the text. A big inspiration during the exploration of the style was l’atlas.

Left to right:

Put the lights onThrough the light 1&2

It was suggested at the critique to make a typeface that totally defied rules laid out from conventional typefaces, and this is the first result. Another geometric typeface, every letter looks unique so largely illegible without studying and learning the typeface.It has a alien/foreign nature about it and I really like that imagery.

Font creation Pt. 2Going back to thinking about my typefaces, I thought about how they could all interlock if thought about correctly. This led me back to my childhood and a selection of fifteen puzzles. I thought this could be a great way for the viewer to break the code of the image. This is how the typeface (Left) was created. Using graph paper I sketched a simple geometric shape in pen and then transferred it into Illustrator. My only issue was that the letter ‘P’ was going to be a blank square, so I had to shuffle the letters across one square. Although I could have solved it another way I also wanted the typeface to be consistent and visually stimulating.

When struggling for inspiration I reverted back to my older type-face to see just how memorable it was. My discovery was that it was remarkable simple in reality, and therefore is to learn. This is not what I am attempting to achieve.Also, upon writing it down, it is very hard to get it consistant. Work-ing with the type on the computer in a gridded system makes it easy to tell what is what. Here it is a lot more difficult. For that reason, I think it could only work as a decorative type.

Importing into fontlab. Only when I wrote it down did I realise I did not think it would work as a font.

This typeface was created as a development of the previous. Working on a gridof 5x5, I snaked the lines down the page to create a typeface that was entirely uniform. I worked down the page, then slicing up the 26 segments to create the letters. In terms of consistent construction, it made the job easier. Like the previous font, I have created something where every letter is unrecognisable. However, it has the appearance of being a genuine language. It again draws inspiration from Chinese letterforms. My typeface reads from left to right largely to make it easier for myself due to the fact that without recognisable letterforms, my job is already difficult. I think this is certainly the typeface to take into my final FMP.It has crossed my mind as to what I could be, whether I am a typographer/cryptographer, or whether I am a straight graphic designer. Personally I see no problem with being a bit of both, I always want my work to confuse and if I opt to do that with typography then so be it. If I come up with the typeface I see it no problem as an extention of my artistic expression. In my previous work, the letters and type became an image in itself, distorted and hidden behind colours and visuals, whilst now the type is becoming more dominant.

Right - Love a bald pussy

Font creation Pt. 2

Font creation Pt. 2

Although I preferred the look of the white image, I think these provide a different take. My personal favourite is the version to the right. The version top left was an inverted version but I do not think it communicates what I would want. I wanted the image to say more about the white than the colour. Working off the ideas I have used before with an accent of black, I think it creates a striking image. The black image bottom left is quite interesting also, taking away as many bold blocks of colour as possible. It does, however, make the text really stand out.The image above was an attempt to put so genuine colour into the piece. Using contrasting colours, I really think the image stands out. For the first time there is also a use of a subtle line around the colour. I think it really helps the colour pop.

When I finished my second year, I still did not feel like I had a sense ofidentity as to where my work was going, or to where I would fit into thegraphic design world. To a point, I still don’t know, but I feel like I am get-ting closer to reaching my niche.I think I fit somewhere between typography and graphic design. I have a strong love of type but I do not want for it to define me as a pracitioner, I feel like it would limit my capabilites and I want to seen as versatile. This year, I have become much more disciplined in my approach, I amaware of what style of work I produce and understand how it can evolveand change into something new. It can be organic and develop as myinfluences and interests change. The heart of it is still the same, I want to make personal work that is visually stimulating to a wider audience whilst hiding little messages for myself.Throughout this portfolio, I have given the names of each piece of work not because I have to, but because I want people to be aware of what I was thinking and feeling at the time of creation. Hopefully, it would give you a greater insight into my journey to this point.On the subject of approach, my approach to research and acknowledge-ment of sources has greatly improved. It has taken a while, but I realisethat even little things could influence my work, and I have to sometimessit back and acknowledge that. There is no shame in being influenced bythe wider world. I still can see that there are gaps in my knowledge. Screen printing, for example, would be a natural course of development for my current work.Working with a different program other than flash would have greatlyimproved the quality of my film. I don’t care for flash anyway, but a resultfrom an alternative program could be something far more refined.Work with programs such as Illustrator have also improved, not just withnew techniques, but with efficiency too. The turnaround with any piece ofwork has sped up, surely a benefit in the working world. Overall I am happy with this development of my work, and I am happy with where my FMP is going to go. I’m glad that all this work has helpedme get to that point, and that I have managed to produce a pretty im-pressive collection of images to boot!.

Evaluation FMP

I think with the completion of this active research I have come to a con-clusion about where to take my FMP. I intend to continue to place cryptic messages in my work, using the final font I created as the basis of my work as well as a strong focus on neon and skyline imagery.The final pieces will explore a variety of different mediums, primarily using Illustrator but also exploring other types of print, including screen-printing. I plan to do an sculpture with a focus on neon lighting. In all I would like to have completed ten or so images that work cohesively in both imagery and message. The message at present is unclear but I would like to go down a social/political root, make a statement that has to be decrypted. As for allowing the viewer to decode the messages, I think I will provide a poster, leaflet or some kind of imformation in order for the code to be broken.

References

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Kanye West VEVO, 2011, Kanye West - All Of The Lights ft. Rihanna, Kid Cudi [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfFfqiYLp0&ob=av2e. [Accessed 15th October 2011].

Big Sean VEVO, 2011, YouTube Marvin & Chardonnay (Clean Version) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1anxnA7Zwc. [Accessed 15th October 2011].

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Wipeout 2097 Intro, 2011, Wipeout 2097 Intro - YouTube . [ONLINE] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vuFnFQQ_pI. [Accessed 12th November].

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Spring Colours, 2011, Pantone 2011 [ONLINE] http://pantone.co.uk/pages/fcr.aspx?pg=20912&ca=4 [Accessed 15 November 2011]

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Fifteen puzzle - Wikipedia, 2011, Fifteen puzzle - Wikipedia [ONLINE] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifteen_puzzle. [Accessed 05th December 2011]

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