Just something I found on my way to a friend's house.

I ought to look into pixel art a bit more in terms of its applications beyond digital form.

SIGH #5

LOOK WHAT I FOUND! :D I found this whilst looking at infographics for one of my final pieces of the FMP.


Via: Medical Billing And Coding

VIA: http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2011/5/10/sitting-all-day-is-killing-you-infographic.html

It's a great blog too, I recommend subscribing to it.

SIGH #4

It's been a loooOOOOOoong time. But here, I'll share something worthwhile with you to make up for it.

[Click here to see "The 50 Things Every Graphic Design Student Should Know"]

This is a visual essay that is filled with nuggest of wisdom, some obvious, others not; but it is as the author, Jamie Wieck, describes: "a list of 50 things I believe every graphic design student should know on leaving college.


So, I emplore you to take a look, digest what needs to be, and salute you in your endeavours as a member of the graphics world.

An Italian liqueur

Upon my mother's return to England, from Italy, she gave me a packet of Baci chocolates (courtesy of a friend she was staying with), an itallian map themed apron and tea towel (so what, I like to cook) and an individual's bottle of Limonoro's Limoncello Liqueur... in the shape of a violin :D

a brand new bottle in packaging fit for plastic toys...

so it comes from Sorrento, just south of Napoli

if you haven't noticed already, the bottle is a violin shape

some sort of official documentation of authenticity

yes, it's rather strong, should be drunken in shots I think

but ehm... I decided to drink like a whiskey...

The taste is undeniably of lemon (but of course) and it's alcoholic, yah yah. *sigh* look I'm no drinks  connoisseur ok?! But the bottle and label are very splendid, and although I can't quite express why the drink was nice, I did enjoy it dry and with a bit of ice.

Onto talking about the packaging:

The plastic wrapping with the cardboard tag is practical, but it does remind me of the cheap wrapping you'd get with a cheap plastic toy of sorts, usually found in a souvenir shop that was placed for the sake of tourism for tourism's sake. Other than that, the actual bottle and label are fantastically designed and produced.

First of all, the label belongs to a brand known as Limonoro, a company that makes Limoncello and other lemon liqueurs for an assortment of chocolates as well as other beverages. It is shaped like a lemon leaf, and reminds me of Jiff's packaging for lemon juice in that approach. The font is something I am unable to identify, but I am running it through WhatTheFont's forum to see if anyone has any idea what it is exactly (I'll keep you posted about that).



Now, onto the remarkable part: The bottle itself. It is shaped like a violin! w00t! I play(ed) the violin and having a bottle shaped as one feels remarkable. Also, it's small and seems collectable and decorative. Also, there's a nice touch with the bottle lid being attached with a metal bale (I'm unsure what the technical term for this kind of lid is...) but it gives a vintage feel about it, as opposed to the metal caps found on most bottled alcohol. On closer inspection, you can even see the details of the strings and sound holes (the "f" looking parts) have been moulded out.

All in all, it comes out as a very neat little object that can still be kept and displayed long after the liqueur has been consumed. A seemingly perfect souvenir stuff that can be enjoyed in both short and long term.

Tate Modern: Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seeds - Answering a question

Well, I visited the sunflower seed exhibit at the Tate Modern. I must say, it's amazing to see in person, I'm just disappointed I couldn't get to jump into it and play around like I saw people do on BBC news... so disappointed >:(

Anyways, I digress. Here's a video of me responding to the exhibit, which Ai Weiwei will probably never see - the whole thing does seem interesting to spark discussion amongst online forums.

[Link to video]

Final Major Project (FMP): Some inspiration

I'll be posting up later to explain my FMP in some more detail, but for now, here's a look at some inspiration for a branching idea I currently have:

First off is a superb short film that features live footage with amazing special effects, Patrick Jean's "PIXELS":


PIXELS by Patrick Jean from ONE MORE PRODUCTION on Vimeo.

Next we have a 2010 PS3 release called 3D Dot Game Heroes:

Look what I found

One of Holton Rower's "Pour" paintings - reminds me of spin art and some of Murakami's works

MMU Contextual Project

We had a project that required us to research an artist and then write an essay on the artist. It was to be presented in a booklet with layout and design along with the 500 word written piece inside.

So, it's gotta look good and read well.

The essay:
---

Peter Callesen has worked almost exclusively with paper in recent years. The Danish born artist, who had studied at Goldsmiths College in London, is known mostly for precise and intricately crafted paper pieces done on ordinary A4 sheets of printer paper. He astounds viewers with the endless possibilities that such a common material is capable of, causing disbelief and wonderment in each of his pieces.

Paper is the base of Callesen's works. He creates meticulously crafted works, that show in their complexity of form, yet the simpleness of having it formed through a single sheet of paper, whereby the “figures (in his work) still stick to their origin, without the possibility of escaping” is astonishing. There is also a point to be made over the commonality of the A4 sheet of paper, and how Calleson tries to prove the plethora of possibilities of this very simple material. He points out how people “rarely notice the actual materiality of the A4 paper” and that by “removing all the information and starting from scratch using the blank white 80gsm A4 paper... I feel that I have found a material which we are able to relate to... and therefore easier to fill with different meanings.”

There is an inherent playfulness in Callesen's works. Many involve “fantastic dreams of childhood” with a play of 3D and 2D, using both dimensions to tell two sides of a narrative, or sometimes as a visual pun. The negative space left behind on the cut out paper forms the 2D aspect of the work and the pieces are used to form a sculptural 3D piece that comes out of its flat plain, thereby forming the two visual forms – one of fantasy (2D) and the other breaching into reality (3D). These two images are usually juxtaposed to represent the lighthearted fairy-tale along with it's darker underlying tones.

Much can be said that his works are dream like and reflective. The way in which these sculptures break out of the 2D plain, exposing themselves to the third dimension, creates a fragility that we react to due to the delicate nature of the material. There is an astounding beauty in his carefully crafted piece such as “Half Way Through” depicting a skeleton sitting up, still attached to the paper, it is with the intricate details and the miniature scale that we find ourselves captivated by the piece as well as feeling precious towards it. More astonishing, is that the crafted sculptures are created with exactly the amount of paper cut out from the A4 sheet, as seen in “On The Other Side”.

The techniques employed in his A4 paper cuts are also used in his large scale work. These come in the form of huge installations which changes the reactions slightly when viewed. These works may seem like a scale up from his miniatures, but they contain twice as much detail as he has already included on a smaller scale. Notable works are life size and they evoke a sense of disbelief that they are made entirely out of paper, for example “White Window” which is as big as the windows found on the side of a cathedral, yet absolutely delicate when you realize the temporary nature of the material it has been built with.

 --- 

SIGH #1

Hello hello :) welcome to my first Self Indescribably Guilty Hoopla.

Apologies for my online absence over the past month and a half. A lot's happened that I have not documented. This is very disorderly of me which I shall rectify over the course of the holidays and in my bid to never allow this to happen again.

So, as an act of good will, I wish to share with you something amusing I found whilst reading the latest issue of Creative Review:

Designed by the good people at Karmarama as part of their Karmaprojects (this particular design was seen at protests against the Iraq war).