Adam 'Damzy' Islaam

It's here! & Farewell....

2012-01-06T00:56:00.002Z

My portfolio website is now online! Also along with a newly installed Wordpress blog, all of my own, I know... ah-mazing! Meaning, this is my last blog post on this blog. I'm really excited to get my hands dirty on the new one though so make sure you wander over!

www.adamislaam.com

www.adamislaam.com/blog

Damzy Land

2011-08-06T13:41:00.000+01:00

I can't apologise enough for not updating this thing bbuutt with the end of my first year, finding a job, moving back home, gallery submissions, talks I've had no chance.

I have been working on this though....

Just a screen grab. The background changes to various works when the page is refreshed. The navigation lights up CMYK hues when rolled-over. The coding was a bitch and a half, but I'm pleased with it. I'm currently coding the portfolio section which is also, being a bitch but getting there.

More news soon.

D x

Welcome to Design!

2011-03-21T18:03:00.002Z

Understand the themes of the exhibition, and analyse why these particular pieces were chosen

The challenge of this brief makes this project majorly exciting. Our outcome should be a response to the theme of the exhibition therefore introducing...

Trisha Brown - Planes 1968

Pioneers of the Downtown Scene, New York 1970s is a fantastic exhibition at the Barbican, London including the works of Laurie Anderson, Trisha Brown and Gordon Matta-Clark. Many of Anderson's works captured my eye including Electric Chair, At The Shrink and The Handphone Table. All felt incredibly contemporary for a rejuvenated exhibition from 1970.
I highly recommend it.

Otherwise, WELCOME TO DESIGN! The last week before Easter!

Photography Finals

2011-03-18T17:18:00.000Z

Engelsk-dansk Ordbo

2011-03-16T01:04:00.003Z

A bit of a de-tour but the general layout/ typography/ cover design of this Danish dictionary is stunning! Found in an Oxfam bookstore sadly, not by me.

If anyone knows any more of Host & Son do let me know!

D x

My Subject...

2011-03-14T18:44:00.000Z

Hoxton.

Also known as 'Home' for the past few months.

There's always something going on around these ends for me not to take notice and also, as I'll be moving back to Birmingham for the summer soon it would be a shame to have not documented my surroundings for my first year of University.

These are 2 of my favs from my shots so far...

D x

Photography / Tribute to an icon...

2011-03-14T18:37:00.001Z

~~and an excuse to be nakey.~~

A little late but 11/2/11 marked the one year anniversary of Alexander McQueen's untimely death. His use of delicate and feminine shapes whilst keeping his edge and brash textures inspired me to create something along the same lines.

P.S: These 2 weeks are based on Photography, my brief being 'Documentary Photography' - yes, that simple and that wide, which has made this the most difficult brief yet.

So, welcome to Photography!

The covers...

2011-03-14T18:30:00.001Z

I created an alternative book (above) containing the same short stories but in a more creative sense. The most difficult thing about this project was to follow the rules of how people read including line spacing, line length, kerning, paragraph indents etc... SO, taking inspiration from the 'House of Leaves' by Mark Z. Danielewski I created the alternative version which look like this....

Phil Baines said...

2011-02-28T15:30:00.002Z

... my book choices and designs are "advanced in skill"

XD

*dies*

'The Incident And Short Stories' draft

2011-02-28T00:42:00.000Z

Have been working on the second half of the brief "To layout the texts and design the cover to a fictional publication of short stories by Marcus Bastel"

I've been working with InDesign all day to try and create a book that not only feels professional but is also legible concerning size, shape, typeface, line spacing, visional angling etc. (whilst eating my own body weight in junk food - good times my friend)

Welcome to Typography!

2011-02-28T00:36:00.001Z

Right, I didn't want to post anything until I mastered the edits of my Illustration videos (see A Little Taster post) BUT I back-logged with some exciting things SO... Welcome to Typography, the next unit I'm working on with Phil Baines.

Our first task, create 3 promotional posters using only B&W on A3

A) One type size only

B) Two type sizes

C) Three type sizes.

D x

CSM to lose print workshops - The Petition

2011-02-15T19:23:00.003Z

PLEASE SIGN IT! - regardless of if you're studying there or not we could do with your support.

I can't actually describe how infuriating it is to learn that the print workshop/all its facilities will not be moving to the new Central St Matins site in Kings Cross come the new educational year.

I need to constrain exactly whats said on such an open forum but jesus, what the f*@k are we paying for with a lack of tutorial time and NOW an absence of facilities. It really isn't on. Apparently it's now in our (the students) hands to do something *rolls eyes*

I've heard amazing things about Chelsea School of Art & Design though and their evening Advertising lectures are pure genius. You know... just saying.

*scowl*

SUPPORT US!

Adam x

Dearest Valentine...

2011-02-15T00:37:00.001Z

His & His
Screen grabs. Videos coming soon...

D x

A little taster

2011-02-12T19:40:00.002Z

From left to right...
Lady GaGa - Born This Way release.
Wael Ghonim - Egypt prisoner release.
The 'Roman Catholic Confessions' app.

Videos will be posted next week.
This project is a toughie dammit!

D x

Unit 4 - "Hold The Front Page"

2011-02-08T00:51:00.003Z

Just begun block 2, Illustration which consists of responding to a newspaper article every day for the next 2 weeks.

I'm HOPING to create something using moving image along the lines of THIS (Forest Gump in 1 minute)

The above image is just a test to the headline "Crematorium fire to be used to heat leisure centre" ... gross ey?

D x

A Magazine Is Born

2011-02-01T18:49:00.001Z

Little White Lies

What a fantastic opportunity to see how Little White Lies put together their 'Black Swan' issue.

Read this particular issue here.

D x

Animal Charm Final?

2011-02-01T15:46:00.001Z

I'm unsure on how I feel about this movie poster design yet.. I THINK I love it, but it feels like something's missing. I've messed with it a thousand and one times but keep coming back to this edit.

I've no details about the movie whats so ever so like, how does it make you feel? / what does it say to you?

D x

Eyes Wide Shut

2011-01-30T22:42:00.001Z

Stumbling around St Martins you can spot these little illustrative gems in the weirdest of places.
A new plan, to document/capture them all before the move to Kings Cross.

A few examples...

Watch this space.

D x

Happy (early) birthday momma!

2011-01-29T17:42:00.002Z

Birthday #3

2011-01-28T02:17:00.001Z

Today has been a VERY good day my friend.

This morning I managed to awake to the sounds of Adele on Radio 1 Live Lounge (heaven) whilst waking up ONE minute before my soul destroying alarm clock (more heaven) Then me and my partner managed to secure our concept for our Advertising brief in for next week (more work to upload on here next week) THEN my beautiful friend Zarah Malik (also a Graphic Designer, also at Central St Martins - check her out) surprised me with a gift or two for my 21st last month...

The little man called "Tengu" is AMAZING! He recognises noises and responds with expressions. I have decided to demonstrate this incredible talent to you through shitty quality moving image. Enjoy.

Tengu performs Adele from Damzy Land on Vimeo.

FEED magazine/ Burgerman

2011-01-26T13:30:00.002Z

I can't believe I haven't uploaded these earlier. The above are 2 articles I wrote in 2010 for FEED magazine. The first is on DNA and it's affect on sexual desire concentrating on homosexuality (XQ28 exhibition) The second was on the decline/admiration of Vinyl records.

Cover design by Jon Burgerman

Burgerman is selling 140 limited edition Puma sneakers with his designs on. If I was into those sorts of shoes/his designs (sorry) I would have snapped them up like hot pies but no... not for me however limited they are.

Burgerman Store

⁄#Artistoftheday

2011-01-26T12:55:00.000Z

Thanks a bunch Jotta =]
HTTP://DAMZY.JOTTA.COM

The Damzy Bible..

2011-01-25T22:26:00.002Z

I highly recommend the The Barnbrook Bible my friends! And also Damien Hirst's 'I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now.' Utter masterpiece's from Jonathan Barnbrook.

Also be sure to check out the new billboard down @ Goodsway Kings Cross, London.

www.barnbrook.net

Black Saturday...

2011-01-22T16:00:00.000Z

Today is a very VERY sad day my friend. It seems Mr. Sapphire is loosing the will to live. Literally all I did was water it. I figured plants enjoy water... Damn you life!

If anyone knows how to plant whisper and save his life I would be much appreciative!

D x

Reverting To Type

2011-01-22T14:33:00.001Z

There was an amazing exhibition over @ Standpoint Gallery on "contemporary letterpress practitioners showcasing how a centuries old craft is being reinvented for modern day usage."

Including Phil Baines, Catherine Dixon, Mr.Smith and many more.

Below are a few examples...

Heros/Heroines...

2011-01-22T13:45:00.001Z

The Heros\Heroines party was an utter blast! The amount of submissions and the quality blew me away!

Gabriella Tomczyk's was one of my favourites.

"Mine was Frida Kahlo...not only because of her looks, but basically I just love her paintings. It was an interesting experience to become a 'transvestite' for a day"

And the winner was...

Photo's courtesy of Sofi Lee-Henson and Adeline Yeo.

The Anti-Hero

2011-01-22T13:19:00.001Z

D x

Chaplin Final?

2011-01-17T23:29:00.000Z

Maybe?

Hero/Heroine Take #2

2011-01-17T17:35:00.002Z

Mr Charlie Chaplin....

DIN1451

2011-01-16T15:46:00.003Z

Typography class with Catherine Dixon.

Promotional leaflet for the German standard typeface DIN1451 for use in the areas of engineering, technology, traffic, administration and business.

D x

Kings Cross

2011-01-16T15:32:00.002Z

Double page spread ideas.

Other variables...

D x

Journey #1

2011-01-16T15:20:00.001Z

Introduction project to Central St Martins to document the move from home to university.
The suitcase is my mommas maternity case.

D x

New Year.. (ish)

2011-01-16T15:11:00.002Z

I need to be doing this more often.
Firstly we're going to draw a line under the sketchbook style blog previously for a more personal one now.

I managed to get into Central St Martins doing Graphic Design and am now in London SO lets start again =]

I'll be posting my new works just to get up-to-date.

D x

Group Leaflet Sections

2010-06-08T11:53:00.001+01:00

Studio Mock-Ups

2010-05-28T11:35:00.004+01:00

Above is a simple mock-up of my exhibition space and where it will be placed in the FEED studio, hopefully between two doors to help support and contain the layers themselves.

I'm rather worried about being able to cut out the quote and each individual letter as accurate and neatly as possible.

Also I have not include the oxygen masks as I'm unsure of where/how to incorporate them as of yet, I'll have to play around with their placement after/during creation.

Materials..

2010-05-23T14:54:00.003+01:00

The space I have allocated for my exhibition is roughly 2m x 2m and the depth is unmeasured as there's is more than enough room for my concept. The base of an Apple Mac available from the studio is something to take into consideration which is Width: 56 / Height:36 / Depth: 21 .. I'll have to remeasure these just to make sure I'm being accurate and have enough space for evening to slot together comfortably.

For the walls I'm going to have to experiment with what materials are easiest to cut out of and strong enough to stand alone plus the best for buying in large formats. I'll be looking at Cardboard or Plasterboard for the main walls.

Plasterboard - Wickes

Cardboard - PostPack

The rest can be done using paints and maybe a few prints from the printers.

Heathcoates:

600mm x the length of a roll of paper (30m)
4 panels of 500mm by 2m would work out at about £20.00 each on the 190gsm Satin
and about £12.00 each on uncoated 140gsm

The walls/layers will consist of the below features;

1) Cut out background to hide any wires or screens etc.
2) Quote from Dear Boy
3) Compound chemicals / XQ28

Others;

4) Pheromone circular hangings
5) Oxygen Masks

Evaluation

2010-05-21T12:43:00.001+01:00

For this project we were briefed to create a project under the theme of DNA with the deliverable of creating something that would be displayed in our end of year exhibition making this project one of our most important of the year.

The brief was quite wide open and allowed me to explore any pathway I felt was appropriate concerning DNA and myself. I began looking at my racial history and my family’s origins but I found it quite a generic and obvious pathway to further as I try to further myself through every brief. This being my first ever exhibition too I wanted it to be special and something that I felt an emotional connection with. So I decided to choose how and IF DNA and sexual orientation can link with one another. At the beginning of this theme I personally had no idea and wanted to find out the links that DNA can have to change an individuals sexual orientation.

I searched through many articles and textbooks to examine what does and could influence it and found an element of the X chromosome, the XQ28 is usually larger in homosexual males effecting brain function towards a more feminine brain thus leaving males attracted to the pheromones of other men. Once I’d found the key features that I felt were not only text book explanations but also I felt were true in my own experience I began designing. Finding the right information brought up many problems as there are many anti-homosexual campaigns and articles around that are prime examples of why this awareness campaign was so important to me.

My main design influences came from James Auger, Strange Attractors, Clemento and Damien Hirst. I wanted my animation done first as it would a) be the longest component of my design stages and b) the animation needs to work and if I’d previously designed things to go into my animation it may not work, so creating that first left me with visuals and an animation that fit and consistently communicate the same theme. Strange Attractors’s TypeLab was a crucial point of interest for my exhibition space. It helped me derive layers in my piece which my animation had. It immediately connected towards the pheromones of my animation and how I could incorporate typography into my piece as small amounts are evident so far based upon typography found in my textbooks.

My typography element within my exhibition comes from Dear Boy and is a quote by Sir Philip Sidney called ‘The Bargain’. I wanted an element of love to feature within my piece as it is a huge contributing factor to my theme. Not only the statistics of homosexuality and its DNA contributions but a more human approach to love within homosexuality rather than the mechanical charts and textbook knowledge which is quite evident in the animation section.

In general my theme and exhibition concepts have gone well. I’m hoping my animation isn’t too vague as it is just imagery/scenes thus an additional A5 leaflet to place next to the exhibition to give a feel of an actual awareness campaign and also to make it very clear what my campaign is.

The plan for the exhibition space is to use MDF wood 2m x 2m for the main background piece and additional 2m x 2m. I’m hoping I haven’t been overly ambitious and can successfully create this final stretch of the project.

Deliverables

2010-05-21T12:03:00.000+01:00

1) Animation casing and disc.

2) Leaflet

3) Sketchbook

4) Cardboard mock-up

Leaflet

2010-05-21T11:58:00.002+01:00

I wanted to make my awareness campaign something that would stick in people's minds and to properly educate people through visuals and envelope them into my various layers/exhibition space. But to make my point a little clearer I've decided to create leaflets for visitors to take with them, something that puts my target for my exhibition into actual words and makes it clear as day.

Below is my short explanation:

My project is based upon the role DNA takes within an individuals sexual orientation mainly based around homosexuality.

It is apparent that the larger the Xq28 element in the X chromosome is the more potential for femine attributes and homosexuality to occur. The brain function also alters as the male becomes attracted to other males pheromones.

This project has been intentionally personal to me to gain awareness to you the audience that homosexuality is not a life style choice but a natural occurence that should be rid of stigma and prejudice.

And the design:

Final animation casing

2010-05-21T11:52:00.004+01:00

CASING:

FINAL:

Exhibition Mock-up

2010-05-21T11:46:00.002+01:00

my final mock-up has brought up a few issues e.g. the stability of the screen so high up and whether I or the college have something high enough to place it on. Instead I'm thinking about moving the screen to the center and having the quote surround it from the left.

The actual exhibition will include glass or plastic globes or small crystals that reflect light etc. as well as the oxygen masks incorporated through the type? maybe?

3D Exhibition Space

2010-05-17T11:57:00.003+01:00

Above is my 3D attempt at creating what it is I want my exhibition space to look like.

A) Apple Screen for my animation.
B) Background layer to cover the table/wires for the screen with a cut out.
C) 'Dear Boy' quote of love.
D) Xq28 compound shape and name.

OTHER VARIOUS LAYERS

A) Globes to distort the layers and communicate pheromones.
B) Oxygen masks.

Quotes

2010-05-12T15:54:00.003+01:00

Below are a selection of quotes and poetry I may use as one of my many layers during the final exhibition, it really is hard to find good classical homosexual poetry, pref ones that refer to smells... and finding a quote that isn't too long, I'll have to decipher bits of quotes/poems rather than cut the entire thing out. I've decided upon using a quote as my main layer rather than statistics because I want an aspect of love to play a factor of homosexuality, it's a key factor and should be seen as just that, pure and simple love for another being be it opposite or same-sex.

My true love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for another given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,
There never was a better bargain driven:
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.
- Sir Philip Sidney, The Bargain

Aroused, he exhales
The intense perfume of his musk.
The sight of his face, lit by a ray of light
Imprints itself.

So arresting is his beauty,
So limitless its power,
That the gaze of those parched for love
Envelops him in tenderness,

And the caress of all those black eyes
Has daubed his body
With their magic color.
- Muhammad al-Nawaji

Children of the future age,
Reading this indignant page,
Know that in a former time,
Love, sweet Love, was thought a crime!
- William Blake

I hear my love, see how he comes
leaping on the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My love is like a gazelle,
like a young stag.
------------------------------------
How delightful you are Caleh,
My lover-man, my other half.
Your pleasing masculine love is better than wine.
The smell of your body is better than perfume.
Your moustache is waxed with honeycomb.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
The scent of your clothing is like the smell of Lebanon.
- The Song of Songs, A Gay Love Poem (Fidelity Press, 1995)

Strange Attractors

2010-05-07T15:10:00.005+01:00

'Letterlab' Exhibition 2009, The Neverlands. Strange Attractors was founded by Ryan Pescatore Frisk and Catelijne van Middelkoop in 2001, it is an international studio that “creates innovative ideas and solutions with a view to influencing culture and commence.”

Primarily I was looking for some way to disguise the screen that my animation will be playing on within my exhibition. I want the screen to be a highlight and a section of a bigger piece/picture, not just plonked onto a table with posters hanging along side as the designs for my exhibition are rather dark in general, the crisp colours of the room doesn't quite fit.

Their use of typography, shape, form and most importantly the sense of depth through layering cardboard cuts outs has inspired me to go along the same lines to cover my screen and really engage my audience to have to spend time 'visually listening' to the layers involved in creating homosexuality.

My initial ideas for the cardboard are:

1) Quotes from Dear Boy or the statistics.

2) Compound chemicals.

3) Cut out brain for the screen?

4) Pheromone inspired glass or plastic globes to be placed in between and before the cardboard layers in various sizes - sense of distortion through the glass to communicate the change in brain function, 'blinded by love' sort of communication, a distortion of the brain.

5) Xq28 chromosome.

Screen grabs of animation...

2010-05-07T15:07:00.002+01:00

Best late than never. I've had this done for some time but realised I haven't actually uploaded it yet.

The final scene will most likely be my strapline or something along those lines to conclude the 'campaign' of homosexuality.

1st animation half

2010-05-05T10:19:00.002+01:00

DURATION: 52 seconds

Including:
Opening Scene
Sperm + Egg
Double Helix

The helix only took me 5 hours to create, frame by frame to remove a over-layer from the trial of my plug-in. It was a case of £150 or a few hours of my life and I wanted my Helix =p I need to add a sense of over-powering from the X chromosome to my Helix somehow. I'm debating colouring certain areas or introducing compound names/shapes (seen in the first scene when the compounds of the female urine and male BO appear) to scrutinise the X chromosomes.

In general I really like the animation, it's coming along exactly how I'd hoped and really encompasses the feeling of a X-ray sort of scene where the viewer is taken on a trip from the exterior of the body into the sexual organs and DNA structural genes.

I'm unsure if my animation has become too obvious, or if I've made the animation too vague... Hopefully the second half of my animation will tell me this as that section is where the homosexual qualities begin to show and we see the pheromone activity as well as the introduction of the Xq28 chromosome.

Animation #2 = Sperm + Egg

2010-05-03T21:19:00.002+01:00

I really like the way my final has progressed here. The sperm feel delicate yet aggressive as they swim towards and 'impregnate' the female egg.

The next step is to determine how the egg transitions into the double helix, luckily there are circular shapes along the top and bottom of each stem of the helix which I hope could form from the circular egg shape.

Ikon Gallery

2010-05-03T16:11:00.003+01:00

The exhibition was interesting to say the least. The main exhibitions spaces were Susan Collis' 'Since I Fell For you' and Ron Terada's 'Who I Think I Am'.

"The wit of Collis' work lies in the time-consuming effort involved in her production of useful looking useless objects, redundant or surplus to requirments, that disclose their true nature on closer scutiny" - Programme guide.

I must have missed the wit involved within her, what seemed, tiresome efforts to apply rather talented techniques to "useful looking useless objects", which stems the general feel for what I had for this particular exhibition. I didn't quite understand the bigger picture of why she decided to add nails of gold and silver to planks or why she embroidered 'paint splatters' onto a cloth. Though it was eye-opening to have to get close to each piece to decipher what Collis' had done I didn't really get a feel or motive for them. It just felt like another artist applying expensive matierals to modane subject matter. In general it was interesting but rather boring all in all.

Ron Terada's 'Who I Think I Am' felt a little more personal, though the personality there was actually a chapter taken from the memoirs of Jack Goldstein. I can only imagine Terada really connected with the dwells and loss of ambition/motivation Goldstein had come to before commiting suicide in 2003. It's effective to see such a subject in a large size against a black background, quite blatant, quite stark and rather daunting when the room is just filled with thoughts. The only piece that takes away from it all was the neon sign in the corner with the word "Big", I'm not quite sure I saw the correlation between the two pieces or why it was even there. Supposedly it is the logo of a rock band who stole the logo from a local supermarket chain. Maybe he was trying to communicate the desperation Goldstein went through to "make it" and the lack of consideration corporations have towards respecting such an artist.... maybe? Either way this exhibition felt like it had heart, and meaning.

Female chemicals = sensitive males.

2010-05-03T16:07:00.004+01:00

Spot on Mr.Newspaper. Spot on.

This quite nicely backs up the theory and basis of my entire project and how female chromosomes in males can alter emotions, feelings and attractions.

Accidental poster

2010-04-30T15:41:00.004+01:00

This is my very first attempt at combining the visuals/mocks of my motion graphics section of this project. So far, it is my favourite poster-like graphic and has a real sense of separate elements working in combination with one another to form sexuality.

I'll experiment with this further, maybe this could be the first half and the second poster could consist of the second half.

I would have appreciated something a little more absract than these. Also I want the 'Xq28 marks the spot' catch-phrase attached.

DNA Posters?

2010-04-30T13:13:00.002+01:00

I'm unsure about these but I've attempted to experiment with the visuals of my motion graphics.

I attempted to layer the different scenes but found it became too confusing. My favourite being the first with the same sort of layout as the 'Mother' poster

Double Helix

2010-04-30T12:07:00.003+01:00

Using the Trapcode plug-in in After Effects I created a double helix.

I want the circular pheromones from the first scene to develop into the second scene which will be the egg and sperm. I then want the egg to develop into the double helix. A representation of the fertilised egg cells reproducing into the child figure.

Because the Trapcode plug-in was only a trial its added some dodgy red line over the double helix. I'll either have to buy the plug-in or re-produce it. We'll see.

In general I really like the progression that the double helix takes as it builds up in a predictable manner suggesting the fact every human has one.

P.S: The scene is actually 10 seconds long but I think the trail thingy has shortened the rendering transition. Grr.

DNA Opening Scene

2010-04-30T11:55:00.003+01:00

I really enjoy my first attempts at creating my DNA motion graphics. I wanted the feel of the video to showcase an X-ray to communicate the scrutiny of delving deeper into the aspects of the human body that adds to the path a person takes towards their attraction to the same sex.

I wanted to have the two figures appear, like a blueprint plan something that has been created, something that has a need and purpose. The lines that appear are to create a blatant way of locating the areas that the pheromones are coming from towards the nasal area of the 'head' on each figure.

An aspect that I need to experiment with are the figures. I used the same figure to see how the two figures worked together on the screen. My next step will be to differentiate the two figures so it can be easily distinguishable as male and female as straight people make gay children <- sort of.

Poster ideas...

2010-04-30T11:48:00.003+01:00

Keeping it in the family...

Above is the poster entitled 'Mother' by Tineshia Johnson.

I want my poster to resemble something along these lines. Consisting of many layers and a sense of hierarchy/development concerning the stages that a homosexual goes through. I want my poster to have a heavy emphasis on the pheromones aspect of sexual orientation based on my animation work. The animation is the main focal point of my piece as I want the posters and animation to correspond with one another.

It makes my life easier to do the animation primarily and then work on the poster using the visuals I have in the animation.

Look what came today....

2010-04-26T12:24:00.002+01:00

Oxygen masks, tubes, those tube things that go straight into the nose (most likely not to be used) and a hygiene surgical hat, for fun.

These props will hopefully be used towards the final quarters of this project. My initial thoughts are that I'd like the oxygen masks to be on either side of the screen waiting on interaction from its audience. The problem I've had with them is there is nothing to pump the scents up into the tube and into the mask, meaning you either have to breathe in very hard or smell nothing. They worked a lot better when the white tubing was directly inserted into a perfume bottle.

I'll sort this out when the times comes.

Typography insert: Creative Review

2010-04-24T15:48:00.004+01:00

The cover image for our May Annual issue was literally grown in an immunology lab, using pollen cells.

I love the May annual cover of Creative Review. Created using pollen cells formed in a metal container in the shape of an 'A'. The cells were then applied and grew within the 'A' to form the cover.

These images are a great inspiration for the path I can take towards creating typography for my posters (when the time comes but, so I don't forget, here it is)

The visible cells give the letterform a real natural feel. The curved lines and various contrasts in colour of the pollen within the contained 'A' offer a sense of movement, you can almost instantly imagine the pollen swerving and replicating within the letterform.

Theme / Mocks

2010-04-24T14:27:00.006+01:00

Below are the mocks of my final commercial. I wanted to go with the feel of an X-ray to scrutinise the feel that the viewer is devling deeper into the works of the human body and seeing how homosexuality works.

Commercial Storyboard

2010-04-24T14:19:00.004+01:00

1) Male and female -> urine and BO pheromones attracting each other.

2) Sperm surrounding an egg - > production of a child with more X than Y chromosomes Xq28 / Double helix.

3) Production of the child -> environmental change and child growth to man.

4) BO pheromones re-introduced.

5) Pheromones through nasal cavity.

6) Brain reaction to pheromones - Hypothalamus.

To begin...

2010-04-24T14:11:00.002+01:00

Now that I've sorted through the valuable information within my research I'm going to being developing. The main focal point of my exhibition will be the commercial, I want it to take pride of place and also set the tone and theme concerning colours/shapes for the posters that will hang along side the motion graphics.

So I began writing a sort of 'script' so I can then experiment with what I want these scripted elements to look like;

1) A male and female both attracted by the urine & BO pheromones leading to the impregnation of the famel;

2) Sperm and egg that expands to become the double helix with more X than Y chromosomes. Xq28

3) Production of the child - enviromental change and child growth to a man.

4) Bo pheromones re-introduced.

5) Pheromones lead up the 'stained' nasal cavity

6) Brain reaction to pheromones - Hypothalamus lit up.

7) Title of project/ strap line.

Concluded Points of Interest...

2010-04-24T14:02:00.003+01:00

My research has brought up many interesting points of interest that I'll take forward into my project:

The X chromosome, particularly the Xq28 section.

Pheromones concerning male BO and female urine.

Brain function - the Hypothalamus and it's detection/sexual arousal.

The relationship between a child and their mother - Freud's 'Oedipal therou'

ARTISTS:

Damien Hirst
James Auger
Bruno Magg
Sanderson Bob
Family XYZ

Pharmacy (Tate & Restaurant)

2010-03-26T15:04:00.004Z

One main aspect of Damien Hirst's Pharmacy exhibition at the Tate Modern was the fact that it began by entering a room that placed the visitor right behind a Pharmacy counter, "it is important for the visitor to enter the installation at the desk, which gives the illusion of stumbling into a pharmacy from behind the scenes." - Hirst

The concepts behind many of the objects are fascinating. The Insect-o-cutor "symbolises some kind of God, something that kills without mercy, without emotion, without choice." which goes hand in hand with the holes Hirst cut through the Tate's window panes and the bowls of honey combs on stools through-out the Pharmacy, making Hirst somewhat of a serial killer, tut tut.

The bottles contain water and food colouring to represent the four elements, earth, air, fire and water.

Cabinets and medicine,

Restaurant

Damien Hirst

2010-03-26T13:13:00.003Z

I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now 2006

"This, the reprint of Hirst's first book, is a dynamic and provocative collection of his ideas and obsessions, a powerful combination of text and visuals. Each piece is set against a visual narrative of drawings, words, photography, typography, pop-ups, and other special effects."

Designed by Jonathan Barnbrook

Many of the pages within this book are set out as Pharmacy manuals and pill booklets to really give the appearance of a medical journal and a dissection of Hirst's works.

Visually it's great to take inspiration from, mainly the typographic elements of using such things as the periodic table are great connections between art and sciene.

Bruno Maag

2010-03-25T22:48:00.006Z

Bruno Maag is a typography designer and regular contributor to Creative Review magazine.

An article that grabbed my attention was Maag's current exhibition showing at the gallery of Viennese design studio Walking-Chair. It consists of thousands of letterforms printed on plastic card, each with the name of relevant font and the letterform's Unicode.

The white walls and bright light are very reminiscent of hospitals/general medical places. The transparent plastic materials that Maag chose to print onto and hang from the ceiling have a medical feeling to them, almost like containers or medical gloves. They are simple, clear and bold. He's let people enter his world of typography in an interesting way by jumbling them all together and letting people decide their own paths by maneuvering through.

I'm not entirely sure how I'll use this in my project but thats for me to decipher later. I could maybe list the statistics from Sexual Behaviour In Britain from below, or maybe the key elements of DNA that form sexuality including the xq28 and its double helix qualities. The books found at the Wellcome exhibition could actually be an amazing curtain around my piece that people would have to enter to entomb themselves whilst viewing my posters/motion graphic commercial.

UNICODE: Fundamentally, computers just deal with numbers. They store letters and other characters by assigning a number for each one.

Creative Review, London. April 2010 Edition.

Perfect (yet dated) Stats

2010-03-24T19:22:00.004Z

Some of the results founded from 37752 people, including equals halves of men and women - 18876. The questionnaire was split into 2, first part conducted face-to-face about sexual attraction and the second was a confidential booklet focused on sexual experience.

SUMMARY:

Men have more homosexual experiences than women, or are more entailed to be open about them. 6.1% of men have had a homosexual experience in comparison to 3.4% women; Genital contact was 3.6% for men and 1.7% of women and 1.4% of men have had a same-sex partner in the last 2 years in comparison to 0.6% of women.

To me this is quite shocking, I've always imagined women to be more open, especially about this subject than men are, though the men I have met who are open about their sexuality really couldn't care who knows what.

Apparently 9:1 (Male:Female) 16-24 year olds are willing to admit their experiences. 8:1 25-34 year olds. 3:1 35-44 year olds and 5:1 45-49 year olds. Which is great information to help me decipher an audience I can target my project to. It would seem 16-34 year olds are more open and willing to admit and accept experiences and attraction, maybe this comes with generation differences or maybe the older males have commited into heterosexual relationships as many used to and are unwilling to admit anything that differs other peoples thoughts on them. Maybe?

London is the region with the most same sex behavior suspected from cities being more accepting and easier to hide in. Also referred to as "Gay Ghettos" were a community can come together.

One lot of statistics that actually shocked me was the amount of same-sex experiences that came as a result of boarding school education. It almost doubled and in some cases tripled the percentage of same-sex experience, more male than female as before. This was referred to as "facultative homosexuality" which meant that because boys and girls were segregated and place together the opportunity (mainly through puberty I'd imagine) was larger.

Kaye Wellings, Julia Field, Anne M. Johnson, Jane Wadsworth. Sexual Behaviour In Britain - 1994. Penguin Books. England.

Dear Boy, hit the bookshelf

2010-03-24T19:12:00.002Z

Gay love letters are important and precious documents for the study of gay history, and are a resource for the nurturing of gay love. It is important to reclaim the older documents in order to demonstrate that love letters between men are not simply a phenomenon that has arisen as a result of modern gay awareness, but are testimonials of an enduring love.

Rictor Norton. My Dear Boy - 1998. Leyland Publications. San Francisco.

Food for thought...

2010-03-23T18:30:00.003Z

LGBT rights by country or territory

KEY:

[Reference]

Heterophobia

2010-03-14T15:46:00.003Z

"What if we were to reverse roles?
The oppressor and the oppressed.

What if we lived in a world where your average self-made expert went around chanting “Gay Is Good”?"

The REP are previewing a play entitled Heterophobia on Weds 17th of March. The piece involves drama, performance poetry and visual arts/media. I'm guessing it will be on show for Artsfest or the LGBT Shout! Arts festival later in the year.

It's an interesting concept to wonder what the world would be like if the roles were reversed and being homosexual was considered good by the experts (this is what I've understanded from reading the description on The REP's website.) There are many 'fors' and 'againsts' for such an argument, it would definitely make being a homosexual a lot easier, but does it leave a market for hate to be thrown onto another "lesser" society as the title suggests?

I personally feel acceptance and equal rights will happen through time, as progression over the past 20/30 years has already been tremendous. Plays like this help, if done correctly. They nicely highlight the thoughts of many of us and put those forward to the public.

Concerning my DNA project it definitely is food for thought but probably isn't the direction I'm looking to go. I want my piece to educated people, not leave them questioning a Doppleganger lifestyle. Either way I think this play would be a interesting watch and will hopefully bring up strong points.

The most confusing book my sister has ever given to me.

2010-03-13T12:05:00.005Z

Biochemistry, the sixth edition exerts.

The reason for including these scans are mainly for the graphic elements the book contains. In the pheromone section there is a amazing example of the nasal cavity stained to showcase the "sensory neutrons" receptors. As well as the graphics there are tons of great facts on DNA and pheromones within these particular pages.

DNA related:

Pheromones related:

Jeremy M. Berg. John L. Tymoczko. Lubert Stryer. Biochemistry, Sixth Edition - 2007. W.H. Freeman and Company. New York.

The Fruity fruit fly

2010-03-13T11:58:00.005Z

Lecture by Prof. Mark Jobling @ University of Leicester, LE1 7RH on the 05/03/2010

The tra gene is the shortened name for the transformer gene which encodes a protein called transformer. Transformer is a key regulator for sex determination; it prevents male-specific genes being expressed (produced) in female flies and vice versa.
If the female specific genes are not inhibited by the transformer, as was the case here, the male turns into a female.

This slide just shows that every somatic cell (somatic means body cell) determine sex independently. So you can have a male cell next to a female cell. In this experiment the tra gene (sex determining gene) was mutated (changed) in the brain and the fly ‘thought’ like a female even though the rest of it was a male fly (neurons are altered which are involved in senses- smell).

Neurons are components of nerves; you have lots of neurons in a single nerve. Think of miniature versions of the spine, long and carry impulses (signals) to different parts of a tissue or along the length of the body. The smells would create an impulse like in reflexes (doctor taps knee and you kick – knee jerk reaction).

NOTE:
Olfactory means smells; I think he’s saying that the mutation in the tra gene indirectly brought about a change in a protein which is affected by the tra gene product (transformer protein). Most things in the body have a chain of events before you get a final product, so you produce one protein that affects another, which affects another until you get the final product. Here an olfactory protein that detects pheromones may have been affected by the tra mutation and the fly detects pheromones like a female fly...maybe.

30/3/10 - http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/doublesex-gene-that-puts-sex-on-the-brain-of-fruitflies.ars

That little glimpse of light...

2010-03-12T23:42:00.003Z

macro kingdom from clemento on Vimeo.

Video by Clemento.

My proposal states that I want to create a commercial/motion graphic to accompany my awareness posters and interactive piece for my final. This video from Clemento is in the right direction of what I had in mind concerning pheromones and chromosomes in my motion graphics. I imagined small specks of smell floating and "whooshing" around the screen represented in circular shapes coming in and out of focus.

This piece has a nice sense of scrutiny as its MP-E 65mm lens fully captures the beauty within many everyday things. Also the use of simple, clear and clean typography in this really complimented the visuals.

Sanderson Bob

2010-03-12T23:26:00.002Z

Sanderson Bob Studio

There didn't seem to be much information on this piece either. Yet the connection between the theme of DNA and these tracks of a face are too strong to not include. I mentioned during my proposal that I would like to involve some sort of installation/interactive piece for my audience.

This framework of a head, to me easily portrays the tracks of this person, like fingerprints but of the face. Each person would have their own tracks. The final metal frame piece looks very emotional to me. The metal swirls seem to appear where the face delivers expressions, along the brow line and on the cheeks detecting smiles, disappointment, tears, eye brow and movement which really define a individuals thought process. The brain area has been left blank which intrigues me.

I think this piece would have spoken volumes if the interior of that frame was filled like the illustration piece rather than left blank. Still, it is great for reference when deciding upon materials for my final to be confirmed thing.

XYZ - Family

2010-03-12T23:09:00.003Z

Designed By Family

Not quite sure what these were made for but they're effective pieces of typography. The curved ends of each character, lack of formal definition and additional circular shapes make these letterforms really feel like the X and Y chromosomes. They remind me slightly of veins also as there are entry and exit points with large and small circles leaving in various directions.

This is a great way of entering typography into my finals whilst keeping with the theme of genetics in particular the X chromosome.

I like.

Interesting research

2010-03-12T22:29:00.002Z

Boston University psychiatrist Richard Pillard and Northwestern University psychologist J. Michael Bailey announced the results of their study of male twins. They found that, in identical twins, if one twin was gay, the other had about a 50 percent chance of also being gay. For fraternal twins, the rate was about 20 percent. Because identical twins share their entire genetic makeup while fraternal twins share about half, genes were believed to explain the difference.

In May, Swedish researchers reported finding important differences in how the brains of straight men and gay men responded to two compounds suspected of being pheromones - those scent-related chemicals that are key to sexual arousal in animals. The first compound came from women's urine, the second from male sweat. Brain scans showed that when straight men smelled the female urine compound, their hypothalamus lit up. That didn't happen with gay men. Instead, their hypothalamus lit up when they smelled the male-sweat compound, which was the same way straight women had responded. This research once again connecting the hypothalamus to sexual orientation comes on the heels of work with sheep. About 8 percent of domestic rams are exclusively interested in sex with other rams. Researchers found that a clump of neurons similar to the one LeVay identified in human brains was also smaller in gay rams than straight ones.

In 1993 came the biggest news: Dean Hamer's discovery of the "gay gene." In fact, Hamer, a Harvard-trained researcher at the National Cancer Institute, hadn't quite put it that boldly or imprecisely. He found that gay brothers shared a specific region of the X chromosome, called Xq28, at a higher rate than gay men shared with their straight brothers. Hamer and others suggested this finding would eventually transform our understanding of sexual orientation.

------------------------------------------------------

NOTE;
These are fantastic pieces of research to direct my FMP. It would seem, from the above, that genetics surrounding the x chromosome play half a role in deciding upon a individual's sexuality. Female chromosomes are XX whilst males are XY. If a set of homosexual brothers have a higher rate of the Xq28 chromosome this would account for the feminine qualities that are linked with homosexuality.

Also paragraph #2 concerning the pheromones of straight men and gay men is incredibly intriguing. It nicely links in with James Auger's "Blind Date" device and could initiate some really abstract visuals concerning smell.

Sigmund Freud

2010-03-12T12:49:00.004Z

Sigmund Freud was born May 6, 1856, in Moravi. He was one of the world's most acclaimed psychologists and ideas such as conscious versus unconscious mind, defense mechanisms including denial and repression all stem from Sigmund Freud's theories also known as Freudian belief.

His theory on homosexuality comes from 'Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality' published in 1905 and ' “Certain Neurotic Mechanisms in Jealousy, Paranoia, and Homosexuality' published in 1922.

His theory was that every human being is born bisexual and later develops their sexual orientation through the ordinary stages of human development. He suggested that homosexuality could be a deviation of bisexuality being caused by biological and psychological factors. We see this in his theory of "The Oedipal crisis" where young boys and girls supposedly begin their first love towards their mother. He also suggests that children who fail to master the Oedipus crisis resulted in homosexuality.

"Freud and many of his modern successors saw homosexuality as the penalty for the boy child’s failure to win the Oedipal battle against a seductive, overbearing, over-affectionate mother—the classic Mrs. Portnoy. Instead of finally identifying with the hated father at the resolution of the Oedipal rivalry, the child identifies with the mother. Thereafter, the now homosexual male seeks other men as his love object. . . . In the Freudian homosexual model, the penis-adoring child also shows disgust for the penisless woman. This is coupled with his castration fear at the hands of an angry father-rival"

On a side note a letter of his dated 1935 goes:

"I gather from your letter that your son is a homosexual. I am most impressed by the fact that you do not mention this term yourself in your information about him. May I question you why you avoid it? Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation; it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function, produced by a certain arrest of sexual development. Many highly respectable individuals of ancient and modern times have been homosexuals, several of the greatest men among them. (Plato, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, etc). It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality as a crime –and a cruelty, too. If you do not believe me, read the books of Havelock Ellis.
By asking me if I can help [your son], you mean, I suppose, if I can abolish homosexuality and make normal heterosexuality take its place. The answer is, in a general way we cannot promise to achieve it. In a certain number of cases we succeed in developing the blighted germs of heterosexual tendencies, which are present in every homosexual; in the majority of cases it is no more possible. It is a question of the quality and the age of the individual. The result of treatment cannot be predicted.
What analysis can do for your son runs in a different line. If he is unhappy, neurotic, torn by conflicts, inhibited in his social life, analysis may bring him harmony, peace of mind, full efficiency, whether he remains homosexual or gets changed."

Reference 1

Sigmund Freud. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality - 1905 SE, Volume Seven London, 1953. Page 226.

James Auger

2010-03-12T12:11:00.003Z

"What if we could use smell to find the perfect partner?"
Smell Blind Date from Smell Research Project (In collaboration with Philips Design)

James Auger was born in Derby 1970. He has a BA in Product Design from Glasgow School of Art and an MA in Design Products from the Royal College of Art in London. Post RCA he worked as a Research Associate for Media Lab Europe.

"Dating and genetic compatibility:
For the Amazonian Desana marriage is only allowed between individuals with different odours. (same with Batek Negrito of the Malay Peninsula). In conjunction research (wedekind et al, 1995. Proc R London ser B 260:245-249) has proven that Humans use body odour to identify genetically appropriate mates.

This proposal is for a blind dating agency aimed at individuals wishing to meet a suitable partner for procreation. Olfactory communication is given precidence over visual stimuli."

This is a great direction to take. If it's all down to a simple thing like smell to find our "perfect" partner then there must be some sorts of sensors in our brains that direct us to the sorts of smells we're aiming for? Are there different smells for males, females, homosexuals or transexuals like April Ashley?

Today we use shampoos, conditioners and perfumes to mask our natural scents. Is this preventing our search for the perfect partner? Have we become disgusted by things like body odours and are those the features we should hold on to? Sounds a bit gross right? But who knows...

Moodboards

2010-03-12T12:09:00.002Z

Proposal (Yes, the actual one)

2010-03-12T11:39:00.002Z

For my FMP I am going to push my original initial concept (click here to read) of sexual orientation, with a main focus on homosexuality. The change of direction concerning my theme is dependant upon what creates homosexuality be it environments, conditioning or hereditary genetics rather than a main focus of genetics.

I will be looking at contemporary artists such as James Auger to gain inspiration and further my thinking process to create something special for my final.

I am thinking I would enjoy creating an awareness campaign and commercial/animation for my final. I also want to have some thing physically interactive with my audience like James Auger's "Blind Date"

Constraints in this brief are being successful in understanding what creates homosexuality as many rumours including disease and mental disorders are common to come across. Creating an awareness campaign gives me a wide audience to experiment with depending on which age I would like to direct it to; something I'll have to decipher soon.

To conclude: I will hopefully be delivering (2-3) awareness posters, a commercial and a physical interactive something.

Secondary Concept for FMP

2010-02-08T11:58:00.010Z

An interesting way to go may be looking into my family history as it is already an interesting mix of Pakistani and Irish heritage. Things like hereditary disease and aesthetics could be great factors to start off my project.

I could gather images from my fathers and mothers side to scrutinise and compare facial features of not only me but my brother too to figure out if my mother or father have stronger genes and if it is the same within my brother. I could also research current and past illness and see the likelihood of it occuring in the future concerning myself.

How enviroments can alture your current make-up could be an interesting side path to follow whilst exploring this concept. (e.g: How smoking and drinking can affect my structure.)

Francis Galton's work of recording and measuring individuals to put into aesthetic groups at the Wellcome Gallery was a key feature behind this concept.

DNA testing

2010-02-08T11:46:00.005Z

A section in the Wellcome Exhibit that really interested me was the full DNA profiling. To see the sections of different races that appeared in a prominently Caucasian individual really opens your eyes to the concept of race based upon skin colour rather than actual fact.

Also the idea that we are all connected to one of seven daughters (The Seven Sisters) that originated from Eve is something that rather hard to believe (even for the exhibit tour guide) but still something that could work really well within my project.

I hope to get my own DNA information soon to see where my origins lie, which leads me to what may be a new concept for my final major project.

Initial DNA Concept

2010-02-08T11:22:00.003Z

For my initial concept I wanted to explore the idea of homosexuality and whether or not DNA is related or even relevant as a contribution of a persons sexuality. Whether it is a hereditary or simply just a life style.

Whilst researching I stumbled across many statements along the route of;

Columbia University psychiatry professors Drs. William Byrne and Bruce Parsons stated: "There is no evidence that at present to substantiate a biological theory. [T]he appeal of current biological explanations for sexual orientation may derive more from dissatisfaction with the present status of psychosocial explanations than from a substantiating body of experimental data".

Even though I don't find his theory incredibly influential to my initial thoughts to decipher an individuals sexuality to derive from being bored and dissatisfied with the norm is incredibly ridiculous. I'd imagine going against their theories and trying to sort out my own conclusion could be harder than I'd imagine. I am unsure of how exactly I'd find out the genetic half minus testing my entire family, even then, there would be no solid outcome that I could use to visually communicate a final outcome, I'd imagined to be an awareness poster.

Maybe it would be a great time to re-think my initial concept.

Wellcome

2010-02-08T10:51:00.006Z

The Wellcome Collection on Easton Road, London have a great exhibition on about Indentity and DNA in a range of "subjects tackled including twins, phrenology and brain imaging, gender and sexuality, race and prejudice, and acting and improvisation."

Sections I found interesting were April Ashley, the first person in Britain to undergo gender reassignment

Francis Galton, the Victorian polymath who was obsessed with recording and measuring people's face and physical characteristics.

Alec Jeffreys' invention of DNA fingerprinting 25 years ago

Motion Graphics Portfolio Page?

2010-01-20T17:23:00.004Z

Be-Jebus this portfolio stuff is difficult.

With the help of Adam Guy today we achieved what should be the first of many portfolio pages. Hmm... ?

This is going to take a ton of work mi thinks.

Barnbrook FEED Seminar

2010-01-20T17:19:00.003Z

The poster I designed based on many attributes of Barnbrook for his FEED Seminar on the 28th of January 2010. (Not the final but I prefer it)

Check out http://thisisfeed.blogspot.com/ for more details.

Smokey Robinson

2010-01-14T20:31:00.009Z

Today we configured the base and background of our piece consisting of a smoke filled background with a rugid, used 18th/19th century feel to it taking inspiration from images found on Google Images & Photographers Direct as well as Stock Exchange and Getty Images.

Our final product is beginning to take shape and looks great. With a lack of time and resources I feel we've produced a quality piece of 3D typography. Instead of creating the bowl/oval shape we originally agree'd upon we're going to go for a pile of nails and bolts glued onto the base to create an illusion of the letter forms rising from the pile. We are also painting the newer nails using acrylic paints and the dry brush technique to create "rust"

Below is a sketch of what I would have liked to have seen if both time and resources were on our side;

This developed idea consisted of a half clog (to foreshadow the large scale of the Industrial Revolution) created using nails and bolts, keeping the project consistent with it's original idea and the original letter forms again, rising from the clog.

Photographers Direct

Letter forms done-diddly

2010-01-13T17:45:00.009Z

The creation of our new keyword 'Industrial' was the main task for today which 3/4 of the group completed in (what I imagined would take forever) impressive timing. The perks of group work.

Below is a mini gallery of the development stages from today.

TOMORROW our task is to create the curve/mass of bolts and nuts that the letter forms will appear from and also create the base and background graphics to hopefully convey the idea and feel of the Industrial Revolution that Birmingham is so famous for.

Initial Design

2010-01-13T10:52:00.012Z

IT'S ALIVE!! AALLIIVVEEE!!!

In today's session we experimented with using screws, nails and bolts to create legible letter forms as seen above. Before we did this we edited and finalised our idea including discussing and replacing the word "Industry" for "Industrial" as the term could be used in terms of Fashion Industry, Music Industry etc..

We also drafted a few different possibilities for our final product including letter forms trailing off of one another and letter forms leaning against the pile of nuts and bolts we originally drafted.

We also intend to create a background to link the type with the city, maybe landscape like.

VOILA!

Concept

2010-01-12T19:16:00.008Z

After discussing mood boards, brainstorms and research consisting of Birmingham's most distinctive features and history we finally decided upon 2 initial concepts.

CONCEPT 1
The Industrial Revolution is maybe one of the most important factors in Birmingham's history. It happened during the 18th and 19th centuries which concluded in better roads, canals and the introduction of rail transport which was a key factor of improvements in socio-economics and culture in the UK. "The onset of the Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in human history; almost every aspect of daily life was eventually influenced in some way."

Birmingham was penned as "the workshop of the world" and "city of 1000 trades".

CONCEPT 2
Economy was our second concept which nicely links in with the first.

In 2009, Cushman & Wakefield stated that Birmingham was the second best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, and the 14th best in Europe.

With such a crumbling economy we thought this idea would have been great to convey through typography. Our initial thoughts consisted of creating the word 'Economy' as individual characters, applying a covering of scanned bank notes and placing the letterforms on top of one another in an unbalanced way, like Jenga but in typographic form.

Another initial idea we had was to use printed bank notes and create the word economy using origami techniques.

The problem we came to with this entire concept was the fact 'Economy' can be related to the entire UK as well as other countries, it is not specific enough to pin point Birmingham and a speciality only concerning Birmingham.

CONCLUSION
Thus, our idea will most likely consist of Concept 1 - The Industrial Revolution using materials such as bolts, screws and nails glued together to create the word 'Industrial' or 'Industry'

BYE!

Birmingham's Type DNA

2010-01-11T18:55:00.011Z

PROJECT = "...celebrating Birmingham's typographic tradition ... explore the history of Birmingham's typographic roots and uncover beautiful letterforms that can be found on the streets" alriiighty

So we took to the streets in our group consisting of myself, Selina, Noushka & Rasheeda. We tried to stick to the locations offered including Cannon Street, Vistoria Square & Corporation St. We found a bunch of hidden gems along the way that we'd never seen before like the pure capital san serif 'Hotel' sign:

Which can be found on New St above the Britannia Hotel. Very New York looking I'd say. The typography isn't too hard to find and is literally everywhere, however ugly or hilarious including closing times at "0pm" (if anyone can explain this to me I'd be delighted) The most challenging aspect of the day may have been keeping a hold of my toes and steadily yet successfully smoking in freezing conditions.

The most common typographic quality that kept arising from our walk on engravings and road signs was a serif rather bold typeface that could and hopefully will inspire the second half of this "yellow week" live project.

The second half consisting of choosing a phrase, word or sentence that is synonymous with or unique to Birmingham such as;

Brummy / Second City / Spaghetti Junction etc..

Once we've decided our phrase or word we'll then be creating a 3D "lettering installation" that HAS to be presented to the group on Friday. It also has to be portable, so my initial idea of Birmingham's vast Canals and water seems a bit tricky depending on the ideas of my group... who knows.

Tomorrow the plan is to have a phrase and begin researching materials and methods of creating typography inspired by the ancestry of type around Birmingham.

Engine, Engine number 9...

2010-01-11T11:32:00.007Z

THEME = Transport

Ornamental/Dingbat style typeface inspired by engine parts simply entitled 'Engine'
The concept being to delve deeper into the mechanical side of transport and what actually causes transport, leading me to the engine.

Tra la la la....

2010-01-11T11:00:00.001Z

This would be my first blog. My first blog this would be.

And you are?....