A Month in....

It's been a while since I've updated, but that's not for lack of content. It's lack of time. Talk about an intense course!

Anyway, I'd like to start this entry with a small bit of advice for anyone going into further education next year. If you've done any research into graphic design courses, you may have noticed that some are called 'Graphic Design', whilst others are called 'Graphic Communications'. Ask you're tutor and they're likely to tell you that they're exactly the same course (mine did anyway) but in talking to some of my fellow coursemates from college I've come to the conclusion that this is a blatent lie. ALL GRAPHIC DESIGN COURSES ARE DIFFERENT. Pretty obvious you would think? Different university=different courses. Ok, so maybe it was just me that was oblivious to this small fact but still. It still came as a shock to me to find out just how different 2 courses studying the same subject can be so damn different. For example. My mates living it up in Cardiff, at UWIC university studying Graphic Communications. Her whole group has been split in half and they're currently studying 2 different things-typography and image. Here at The University of Gloucestershire, I've already on my second main module brief, and they both combined typography and image! Noticing the differences yet? Another thing, theres an awful lot more theor behind her course it seems, whereas mine is very....ideas based. I'd like to sit here and say the way my uni does it is the right way, but that would be pretty childish. It just makes me wonder if we scan over small points like this when applying for uni. Is it things we should have noticed beforehand? Or are they differences that only crop up when you finally arrive? Who knows. But the point of this (rather hefty) paragraph is this: do as much research into your chosen universities as you can. Pick up on these differences, any you could be on your way to making an even better judgement than you would before.

Ok moving on, I'd like to update with some designers, websites etc. that I've come across in the last few weeks that I think every budding designer should be aware of!

Designers:
-Alex Steinweiss: A must if you're interested (as I am) into designing music graphics. He was the first designer to put images on album covers, and his book "For the Record" features practically all of his designs right through the times. Some even sow how he worked them up from traditional media into digital. A definate must-read I would say.
-Samuel Flores: I was wary of putting him in with a list of designers, because his work is very illustration based. But this just makes him an interesting designer to study. With his own indiviual style, his work is easily reognised-the sign of a true designer.
E. McKnight Kauffer: An early designer, for anyone interested in the history of graphic designer. His work has a hint of modernity in it, what with its briht colours and simple shapes. He also did a series of clothes tags for anyone interested in the fashion side of design.
David Carson: One of the most well known typographers of his time. Every designer should be aware of his work. Thats all that needs to be said on him.

Books:
-"Taes Logos": One of the best logo design books I've come across in my uni's extensive library. All logos are categorised, and for a small book full of a ton of images they're all still of a decent size. Great for inspiration.
-"Handwritten: Expressive Lettering": One of the books on my christmas list. The title says it all really. A good read for anyone who wants to specialise in typography, and wants their work to stand out.
-"Stop Stealing Sheep": A weird title, for a fantastic read. Talks you through every element to type there is, including how it's used, when type was created and how to decide what fonts to use and when. I was stuck from front to back, and it taught me a lot of information that I took in easily due to it's easy to understand format.
My group have been given an extensive book list, of books they recommend we read. I'm currently making my way through the list slowly. And will update with any books I felt were particularly good.

Websites:
www.myfonts.com: Particularly the 'whatthefont' feature. It basically allows you to find any font used within a logo. For example, if you have a findness for Dove cosmetics logo, you can upload their logo to the site, and it will find the closest font to the one used. Clever huh!
www.ffffound.com: This site is cram packed with images. And that's not even an exaggeration. Taken directly from the site: "FFFFOUND! is a web service that not only allows the users to post and share their favorite images found on the web, but also dynamically recommends each user's tastes and interests for an inspirational image-bookmarking experience!!" I won't go into any more detail here, so I suggest you go check the site out for yourself :)
www.universaleverything.com: Interesting for the fact that not only are the people who run the websites quite local to me, but they've never had any education in graphic design. They purely got their work out there by this website, and began to get a name for themselves. Pretty impressive if you ask me. As is their work.

Ok I'll stop there for now. Leave the others for a future update.

Moving on to markers (again!). I decided it was about time I experimented with a different type rather than just my copics. My workplace back in Trowbridge currently has a clearance sale on the markers called 'Tombo's'. They're dual tip, one end being a brush pen and the other being a bit like a felt tip-the first difference between these and my copics. I bought a couple different colours, and did some of my graphic work using them instead. The brush end is a joy to use, possibly nicer than the copic brush end. They just seem to flow across the page. However, it is slightly harder to get colour depth with the Tombos, although it is possible. Without a block end, it's harder to cover large blocks of colour, so there the copics are handy. But the felt tip end allows for slighter dabs of colour that the brush end couldn't handle. In conclusion? Have a few of both if you can, as they each do different tasks. This doesn't mean I'll be forgetting my belowed copics though. They're still my ideal choice!

And finally. I'd just like to talk about an experience I had in one of my studio days last week. To cut a long story short, my tutor told me he was worried I was thinking too much and not writing any of it down. He suggested I go away and write down EVERYTHING that was in my head, according to the subject I was trying to design posters for. He told me that it would help clear my head, to make it easier for fresh ideas to crop up. And you know what? It actually worked! Yes I felt a tad crazy doing it. But who cares if it gave me some pretty decent ideas that my tutor liked as well. This is now a pretty daily routine of mine, if I ever get over-stressed with my work. It's highly likely to be a technique I keep with me the rest of my life. Try it, you might be suprised.

Ok, I'm done for the day. That's a pretty long update already, and I don't want readers to start getting bored! I have no idea when I'm next going to get the chance for an update of this size, or even an update in general, so just keep checking back!