New Romantic (sb1)

Above is a collection of information i've currently found relating to the New Romantic genre, below are some key points i've found and which i would like to research further:

• synthpop 
• 80's nightclub scene; Billy's, The Blitz 
• flamboyant eccentric fashion; PX, Kahn and Bell 
• frill fop shirts of early romanticism 
• glam rock 70's era David Bowie 
• rejected austerity & anti fashion stance of punk 
• style inspiration: Russian Constructivism, Bonnie Price Charlie, 1930's cabaret
• androgynous; eyeliner + lipstick 
• dismissal of eclectic clothes for sharp suits (after mainstream attention) around 1983

micro-genre (sb1)

Whilst looking through the website everynoiseatonce.com, a website which features quite possibly every micro-genre that currently exists, i sat and listened to sound bites from genres i never knew existed from south African IDM to Spanish noise pop. 

I came across the genre 'new romantic' a phrase i've heard in passing before, but never really understood what it meant, in result i've decided to focus my research for this brief on the new romantic genre. 

visual inspiration (sb2)

One of the most popular designs available from my clothing brand is the 'no still means no' design, inspired by having to reject the advances of people multiple times before they get the message.

I believe the reason that the design is so popular is because so many women can relate with the message behind the design, it's becoming clear to me that if theirs a sense of relateability and normality when it comes to addressing the topic then more and more women will come forward and the crimes wont go unnoticed.

a message from a 'no still means no' customer

The body outline of Luzene Hill, Eastern Ban Cherokee from Atlanta, GA, shows her position after being attacked as the 3,780 hand-made Khipu cords were then hung on the wall inside the Harvey Gallery of Contemporary Art at the Eiteljorg Museum on May 19, 2015. Hill, 68, was attacked while jogging at an Atlanta park 11 years ago. Her perpetrator used the strings on her jacket to strangler her into silence. Now, she's coming to the Eiteljorg Museum as one of its five 2015 contemporary Native American art fellows to install a piece consisting of 3,780 knots representing the number of unreported rapes of women in the U.S. within a 24-hour period. "I am reporting and counting for those women who didn't," 

While Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even Hanoi jumped to participate in #MeToo’, though not much on the subject had come from China, where social control is strict, and few are able to actively speak out against misogyny. A recent study found 80 per cent of the female population experiences sexual assault at some point in their work lives. Now, though, Chinese women are slowly breaking their silence, and quite possibly defying their government through the hashtag #WoYeShi

Jen Brockman, 2013 exhibit

A new website Rotten Apples lets you check if a film has an alleged sexual abuser or harassment in front or behind the camera. Type in the name of a film and it will tell you if any of the cast or crew have been accused of sexual misconduct, making avoiding the work of abusive men easier than ever. The website provides a link to a credible news source and a story on the allegations for you to investigate further.

The front cover of New York Magazine, featuring 35 of Bill Cosby's accusers.

A student posed as a dominatrix at the scene of her rape, in a photo series called ‘Reclamation’, Karmenife Paulino returned to the fraternity house where it happened to assert her power

Sexual Harassment & Abuse (sb2)

I collected primary research by asking people on twitter whether they have had any experiences with sexual harassment and/or abuse and if they would feel comfortable sharing this information with me, granted their identities would be kept anonymous. 5 women aged between 19-22 responded and were happy for me to use any information they have provided me with throughout the project. The following screenshots are directly from twitter (one from imessage) and are in some cases quite graphic and violent, however this is the sad reality that this kind of thing happens everyday, to normal people.

final outcomes (sb1)

Below are the final 4 designs for the London is open brief, the outcomes i feel really communicate the openness, creativity and vibrancy of London as a city. The vibrant colour pallets all work well together in looking like a cohesive set of designs.

The typography has been positioned in line with the illustrations to make all the visuals of the piece look together as a whole, using negative space i illustrated some patterns with in the type; first of all to make it a more visually engaging campaign and second of all to link the type to the patterns within the characters clothing. 

I think the illustration style is an appropriate choice as the lines are simple so it doesn't take much concentration to understand the concept; needed for the busy street they're going to be seen upon.

As jcdecaux specialize is incorporating in adapting to things like weather, temperature, location, date and time, flight data, and more. I've included some examples of how live updates could be used within my designs, but in a playful way to ensure fluidity with the tone of voice of the whole design. 

Throughout the process of this breif trying to find the perfect design approach was the most challenging aspect as the design needed to communicate quite serious topics but in a simple way. The approach that was taken has been confirmed by peer crits to meet the breif, in an unexpected way. The use of a character is something which works really well in the campaign, it meets that ‘telling a story’ aspect of the brief but in a way that is visually unique to each individual design. If their was more time it would of been interesting to try and design 50 different illustrations, however the points which have been tackled visually are some of the core themes the brief suggested to be explored and with the addition of the live updates it really pushes the playful voice of the campaign 

development (sb1)

I created a series of line illustrations based off of previous development. The illustrations depict different messages based on the london is open campaign, i have chosen to create a series of 4 illustrations communicating the messages that london is a place of welcome, a place full of creativity, a place where discrimination is not tolerated and a place where love knows no gender.

I began to experiment with different line tones and colour pallets. I believe that each illustration should use a different colour pallets but all should be vibrant and bold in order to catch the eye of the people walking on Oxford Street.
When experimenting with different line tones i feel as if using a black line is the most visually appropriate design choice white seemed to draw the attention to the face of the character rather than the image as a whole,using a slightly darker tone than the background for the line seemed to work at first however i feel it makes the illustration get lost within the background tone rather than standing out. Using the black tone was ultimately decided as the best choice of line as it allows the illustration to appear separate from the background which is a similar tone to one which is used within the illustrations.

Above are the final illustrations, all using individual vibrant colour pallets, the similarity between all the characters allows them to be viewed as a unraveling story almost, however the difference in colour separates them and makes them individual pieces of designs.
I will further develop the 4 designs by adding typography in order communicate the message of each design as detailed above.

Product, range,distribution - initial ideas (sb2)

I came across the 'me too'campaign on twitter a few months ago, so many women on my timeline were using the hashtag and it really caught my, and hopefully other peoples attention of how uncommon sexual harassment and assault is, yet it feels like an issue which is often brushed under the carpet, the victims not feeling confident, or not feeling as if their experiences are valid, whilst the people who are doing these things get away with it and continue on with their careers. 

Woody Allen, Aziz Ansari, Harvey Weinstein and James Franco are some of the men in Hollywood who are currently being exposed for their sexual misconduct.










Almost all women at this years Golden Globes wore head to toe black in order to stand in solidarity with the victims of sexual misconduct and as a way to support the times up campaign.Powered by women, TIME’S UP addresses the systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace that have kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential.No more silence. No more waiting. No more tolerance for discrimination, harassment or abuse.

studio brief 2 research topic focus (sb2)

I have decided to focus this project on sexual harassment and abuse towards women, an issue i feel is important, and seems very relevant today, with the recent reportings coming from Hollywood. At this point i'm not sure what direction the brief will take, however i am interested in incorporating real life experiences within the designs.

further design development (sb1)

As i continued trying to develop a design idea for the oxford street brief, i tried out different approaches including using a variety of different mediums.

On the left is an approach that i did quite like. i tried to communicate the 'telling a story' aspect of the brief through illustrating almost comic book kind of layouts, depicting images surrounding the theme of LQBTQ rights.
The idea was to use a different colour scheme for each of the topics i'l be designing screens for, however the issue i had with this approach was that the message might not be easily understood, and the fact that the design is illustrated using pen, pencil and crayon means that once enlarged for the size of the screens the quality would be very poor as i wouldn't like to vectorise the image as it would ruin the line quality.

 The next approach i took has proved to be the most successful and appropriate so far. I chose to illustrate a character, which i thought could be used throughout all the different designs throughout oxford street, thus linking them together.
I've used very simple lines as the designs will be presented on a busy street (this also gives the freedom for the design to be as large as possible without altering the quality of the design) with people constantly moving and so there will be little time for people to stop and look at a detailed design. As it states in the brief its a simple yet powerful campaign, this is something i hoped to communicate within this design; simple, bold use of lines and colours which clearly show the intended message.
See below for a colour version.
I'm going to experiment with this concept more as i believe it could be a successful one, working on the right colour pallets and also deigning further screens.

design developments (sb1)

I began experimenting with different design approaches for the design based around gender and sexuality. I want to establish a successful and appropriate design concept before i start designing for the other screens so that there is continuity with the screens as they're all going to be on the same street.

I sketched out ideas and developed the idea of using type and illustrations to make mimic the shape of famous London icons.





















I tried out the design concept, using the L shape and clustering imagery and type within it, i'm not sure whether it was the sketchy line quality or the small size of everything within the letter but it just doesn't seem to work, i think next i will try just using type to create the L shape. I chose to start with the letter L and i will then use the shape of the rest of the letters which make up the word London.

I tried out the new design concept and i think i know what i need to do in order to improve the design. I think i need to use more than one medium within the design, the design is too flat.
I will experiment more, using different mediums and layouts.