CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE
13/01/20
I am happy with the outcomes of the "Angular" typeface and I am pleased that everyone caught the reference to the rock metal environment. I really appreciated the comments made by my peers on the outcomes, especially the ones related to an aspect that I didn't think about while developing my work: the font could be used as an alternative to Blackletter which is very controversial, because of the link to the nazi context.
Talking about the experiment of trying to visualise the 10 related objects' data in a short amount of time, I was not very happy with my outcome. I think that the process was linear and clear, but the result was not that great. I had 10 guidebooks and I have categorised them by the location they talked about. Then I have sorted them in an alphabetic order and drawn the outlines of the territories in my sketchbook. After that I have simplified the forms of the outlines into geometric shapes and placed them on a horizontal line following the alphabetic order. Among my peers just another one had the same objects as mine and we ended up with completely different outcomes. I don't particularly like mine because I see it as a bit boring and standard as a graphic. I was very impressed with the graphic that Joana did as she created something physical and visually very stimulating, as she played with the transparency of different kinds of paper.
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE
16/01/20
The tutorial helped me to further develop my idea, but I think I am a bit stuck on the visualisation of it. I have so many data that I think I should narrow It down to the visualisation of just few of them in my graphic. So to not create too much confusion I think I will focus on just the visible nipples, butts and private parts in paintings, giving some facts and a context to the graphics. I also think that I will follow the division into time periods that they have at the National Gallery as it could help to better contextualise the data to the art pieces.
RESEARCH
Visualize this - Nathan Yau
The first graphic shows how sometimes makes more sense to show changes in a single map, instead of multiple ones. This could be a nice and effective way to save space in the layout of the page. The second graphic reminded me of the outcome that a couple of my peers did for the interact project. I like its circular shape and I think it fits well with the topic as it reminds me the iris of an eye.
RESEARCH
Breast Cancer Awareness - Vans
I took this as reference for the illustration of my graphics as I think they managed to make a very nice campaign on a serious topic as breast cancer, finding a very colourful, positive and almost naive way of representing it. I also like the idea of creating a typeface with cartoonish looking breasts for the logo. I believe they succeeded at balancing between making something fun that people could were everyday and delivering the important message behind it.
RESEARCH
Venere - Jago
"The Making of Venere" video timelaps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUWkF0Lc89s
This is a sculpture made by a very talented Italian artist called Jago. His works are always hyperrealistic and often touch important thematics. He made his own version of Venus portraying her very differently from the collective imaginary. His Venus is not young and lively, but old and tired. Her skin is saggy and she has an embarrassed, almost scared expression on her face. Her beauty is not the standard one that we are used to, it's a different kind of beauty, more true to reality.
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE
14/01/20
I believe that the time passed at the library really helped me to gather as much information as possible on visualisation of data and the possible layout of the publication. I have taken pictures of the ones that seemed interesting to me and I am trying to figuring out how I could use these information in my work. Talking with the tutor has helped me to clarify my initial idea behind the piece and I came to the conclusion of doing a publication on naked figures in the paintings of the National Gallery. I think it could be fun as is a subject that pops out in conversations quite often, especially if we're talking about the gender of the naked figure, which is usually a female. I will need to go back to the museum to gather more detailed information and data.
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE
20/01/20
The tutorial on how to use Indesign was very helpful to me as it is the first time that I try make a publication using this type of program. I am not used to work digitally and until now I used it just for illustrations and sometimes posters. I am getting used to it and I'll try my best to learn some new skills. For it concerns the layout I did the front and back cover and I am still figuring out the whole aesthetic of it. I have an idea of how the pages should be disposed in the publication, but as it is my first time I feel quite hesitant in the approach to it.
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE
23/01/20
I am very confused by this publication. I want to modify it to really make it better as I think that the idea was really good but the layout doesn't do it justice. However, my peers were really enthusiastic about the little book and some of them came up to me to say that they have enjoyed looking through it and that really caught me off guard as I didn't think that they would have actually appreciated it. I guess it's not that bad as I think it is, but I believe they liked more the idea behind it than the actual layout. Talking with the tutors we pointed out many things that could be improved and the group critic of my peers gave me lots of very interesting suggestions that I could follow to modify the work.
RESEARCH
Domics - Butts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EimMbmRDgKs
This is a nice and fun animation that celebrates butts. It lists the many ways butts are seen in our society and how these points of view can drastically change if we are looking at them from slightly different perspectives.
RESEARCH
Visualize this - Nathan Yau
These visual representations are among the most simple, but I think that if put all together in a page the effect could be interesting as it will form a sort of repeated pattern, as shown in the picture on the upper left and in the one on the lower right.
RESERACH
Visualize this - Nathan Yau
What interested me of these graphics it's the mosaic effect that the mapping creates.
RESEARCH
Dear Data - Giorgia Lupi, Stefanie Posavec
Looking through the book I was impressed with the amount of data collected and their capacity to find creative solutions to visualise them. even though some are quite simple they still visually very stimulating. I believe the secret stands in the repetition of the forms, which create some very nice patterns.
RESEARCH
Understanding the World - Sandra Rendgen, Julius Wiedemann
The first graphic is well linked to the topic as the visualisation of it seems very organic as the data are shaped like a root. The second graphic is one of my favourites. I think is simple and self-explanatory. It could be used as a very nice poster itself as the visualisation is really nice. The idea of comparing the different planets with the sun putting them on top of the yellow shape really gives the viewer a precise idea of the scale of dimension. The third image shows how graphics can be made also through modelling, to end up with a 3D object that could be read as a graphic.
RESEARCH
Figlio Velato - Jago
Jago also made his own version of the "Cristo Velato", "Veiled Christ" a famous sculpture known for its masterful realisation. This time he decided to portray a child under the famous veil. It is a provocation that shocks the viewer and sparks discussions.
Cristo Velato - Cappella Sansevero
- Pudicizia - Antonio Corradini
- Cristo Velato - Giuseppe Sanmartino
- Disinganno - Francesco Queirolo
The "Cristo Velato" is just one of beautiful sculptures included in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples. These three sculptures are considered to be among the greatest marble sculptures ever made, because of the technical precision they required.
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE
15/01/20
The activity was really helpful to understand few concept that could help us in the realisation of the cover. For instance, a book's cover doesn't necessarily need to tell us everything about its contents, the designer can leave certain elements to the imagination of the viewer, stimulating their curiosity like Oliver Munday did with the books "Sweet Days of Discipline" and "Hotels of North America" or Clare did with the cooking book "Egg". A book cover offers the designer the opportunity to make researches on the book's topics and find the best way to reflect that into the aesthetic of it. An example of that could be the research process Clare showed us in the presentation for the making of the "Promised you a miracle" book, where she needed to adapt to the aesthetic of the years 80 - 82. Not every aspect of a book cover could necessarily communicate meaning, during the activity we encountered many book covers that were a bit cryptic, like the cover designed by Linda Huang for the book "Brilliant", which confused many of us as it tells almost nothing about its contents.
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE
21/01/20
I don't think I will finish in time for the deadline, I am wasting too much time on the organisation of the data that I am neglecting the actual layout of it. It is quite frustrating because I think that the idea is very nice, but it could not work because of the presentation. Also, I have too many ideas on what to to put in it the I think I just need to make some order and start to put out at least a mock-up of it, so I can judge for myself what works and what doesn't.
The presentation on the types paper materials was very interesting and I think that the knowledge that I have acquired from that will definitely help me in the future. After the presentation I have also asked the expert some questions about some types of paper and the performance of the colour and she was very nice and explicative in answering my questions.
RESEARCH
Visualize this - Nathan Yau
I found this fluid effect interesting as it gives to the image a sort of marble look, which can be used as a very nice pattern. I also liked how the simple woven of coloured lines could give nice results. It could work very well if realised as a 3D object, maybe using woollen yarns.
RESEARCH
Visualize this - Nathan Yau
I found this representation of data with forms very interesting, especially the ones that ended up with the creating of different faces. I thought it was quite fun and curious to do.
RESEARCH
Grids - Gavin Ambrose, Paul Harris
The book was full of good suggestions and helped to better understand the planning behind the layout of a publication. I found it very interesting and, as is the first time that I make a whole publication, it gave some guidelines that I could follow in the making process of my little book.
RESEARCH
Gauguin Portraits Exhibition - National Gallery
While I was visiting the National Gallery to gather data I also took some time to visit the exhibition of the portraits of Gauguin. And among all the works I was very impressed by his sketches which seem very cartoonish and contemporary. Also I liked how he experimented with different types of arts such as carving and bronze casting.
RESEARCH
"The naked body of women in art, between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance":
http://www.memecult.it/il-corpo-nudo-delle-donne-fra-medioevo-e-rinascimento/
To have an idea of the perception of the naked body in different time periods I have selected and read an article that talks about the different roles and views of naked women's figures in paintings.