Electronic harmony

Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

Really nice video found on Vimeo. Love the simple sounds made buy your everyday electronics use by a Graphic Designer. It made me smile anyway.

World Expo 2010

World's Fair, World Fair, Universal Exposition and Expo as this event has been name in the passed. This event influences the development of several aspects of society including art and design education, international trade and relations, and even tourism. The first exposition was held in 1851 and since then the themes present have changed from displaying new inventions, address issues of culture and mankind to the present developing art and design.


The Exposition is held in a different country, around the world. The highlight to me are the pavilions that are made by each individual country  in the location chosen. These are a representation of the creativity and imagination of what the countries can design. This year it is held in Shanghai and here are a few of the best pavilions in my opinion. In order of Pavilion UK, Chinese, Israel, Romanian, Hungarian, Denmark, Portugal, Russian 

Prejudgement

From the last project about prejudice I have been knowingly recognizing that I prejudge people quite a lot at first glance. Here is a lovely piece of work by Hut & Weber showing how prejudgement place a part in you emotions. Also describes how wearing a hat can cast a better opinion about the wearer.  

Little People in the City (book)

On my venture into town today to purchased this book^ by Slinkachu, called 'Little People in the city, The street art of Slinkachu'. It consists of a great mix of quirky humour and a delicious edge of melancholy. The street artist 'Slinkachu' for years, has been leaving tinny people in busy cities to fend for themselves. A recommended purchase right here! 

Colour Management Leaflet

Bellow is a leaflet I have produced for the Colour Management short project. This was to gain knowledge on how to get photographs and vector images etc, ready for print. These were designed in Indesign.

Portfolio Visuals

Another part to our reflective journal is to produce 4 A4 portfolio pages.  See bellow for the four portfolio pages.

Open publication - Free publishing - More stewart


Here is the video animation produced for the last page (student-set Project

Surfers Path from Stewart Mackellar on Vimeo.

Sustainability

As a Graphic Designer Sustainability is a very important factor in everything we do.

Sustainability in Graphic Communication is the application to sustainability principles in the area. Considering the environmental impact of products used in graphic design such as packaging, printing material, publications, type of ink etc. This has process involves the raw materials, transformation, manufacturing, transportation, use and disposal.

Sustainability has become a massive issue in recent years not just in Graphic design but in society as a whole. With the issues such as global warming etc the whole world seems to have gone a bit mad on forcing us to turn standby lights off and changing to energy saving bulbs. But this is a small step to reducing the emissions used and so is a good step towards a less wet world.
This has meant that companies have had the chance to capitalize from this, by making everything we see or buy into a the green solution. This has changed design in the later years because know it seems that everything is aimed at saving the environment such examples are to split our rubbish into green and black bags, everything from pencils to tyres are advertised as recycled, low emissions cars and renewable energy resources.

In Graphic design this has had an interesting effect because sustainability plays a part in every process in design. The designer not only has to think of producing something that works but the amount of materials required for production; whether recycled paper could be used in print production; what production methods require the least amount of transport; if the product can fulfill more than one purpose; or even if the end product can be replaced by a digital, rather than a printed format etc. 

So far as a graphic designer I personally contribute to the sustainability issues by recycling every ink cartridge from my printer. When I am in the design process, using the computer for long periods of the day, I make sure the monitor brightness is turned low in order to reduce electricity usage. I also only use recycled paper for printouts, moc-ups and any other trivial piece I have to print out.

Here is an example of a green idea produce called the Green Box an innovative:

Covering Letters

Another part to my reflective Journal is to create two mock up cover letters to Design companies we are interesting in. One being a response to an advertising job opportunity. Other requesting a portfolio viewing placement.

Open publication - Free publishing - More portfolio

Open publication - Free publishing - More letter

Curriculum Vitae

For my reflective journal I have created a CV in a single A4 sheet in order to make it accessible and easy for a design company to read. 

Professional Practice Notes + Handouts

Here you will find my notes and handouts for all the Professional practice sessions from the third year.
These are also part of my professional practice module: The Reflective Journal. Below is a list of all the handouts and presentations given to us which are displayed in book form following the links.

To view all notes and handouts click here otherwise click the links below to see individually. 

Colour Management for Print
Ink Management
Presentation on Colour Management
Folding Examples of leaflet

Accessibility
Accessibility Presentation

Interview + Portfolio 
I&P Handout
Interview Feedback Checklist
Interview Techniques
Interview Presentation

CV's Letters of application
Creative CV's
Professional Skills


Costing a Graphic Design Job
Getting Paid
Hourly Rates


Starting up a Business
Start up Guide
Creative Job guide

Printing process
Intro to Printing Process
Printing Process slides

Copyright
Frequently asked Questions


Print and Finishing
Lithograph
Gravure, Letterpress. Flexography and Screenprinting
Print Finishing

Giving Presentations
Just listen to yourself

Sustainability 
Sustainability Booklet


Professional Communication
Proofreading Presentation
Comparison of Seven Sites
Writing to Persuade
Writing to Persuade Work Sheet
Concise Writing Work Sheet
Writing Process
Guide to Stages of Writing Process
Editing Checklist
E-Communication
10 Web Writing Tips
12 Common Errors in Writing

Roles in the Creative Industry
Lou Cameron Presentation

Notes from Profession Process 

Open publication - Free publishing - More notes

Work Influences

Work experience is a vital part of becoming ready for the outside world! 


Another part to my reflective journal is to write about any work experience I have managed to get whilst studying at Cardiff School of Art and Design. This is to reveal how they have contributed to my development as a designer.

I will start with the first placement I received, which was with the franchise company ‘Prontaprint’. A Dublin based print shop, made up of two buildings one print and design and the other purely for print and print management. This experience, as a whole, built my confidence up about who I am as a designer because I found that I settled in as part of the team. Being a small company I found myself able to cope with the demand of the workforce. I spent 3 day in the print building then for the forth I was able to venture into the design studio where the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed but only having one graphic designer (Student) the work load was at a fast pace. What I got from this experience was that, as a designer in the creative industry you have to keep an open mind to the kinds of projects given to you. Also being thrown in at the deep end can benefit your learning curve to a much faster pace. I would like to thank David and Gayle Foulds co-managers of Dublin, Prontaprint for both the work experience and a home to live in for my time there. 

The second line of work I was lucky to experience was with Matt Cant a freelance Advertising/lifestyle Photographer. He has been in the creative industry for 20 years now, spending most of those years in London. He has recently moved back to his home country to get his teeth into the creative scene in South Wales. With a photographic background in sports, corporate, interiors, leisure and travel industries, he has a vast knowledge into more than just how to take a good photograph that’s for sure!

I worked with Matt on a couple of jobs for the Saracen rugby team. The main experience was when I was Matt’s (second shooter) second photographer at the Wembley Stadium for a big match that saw the Saracens beat the Harlequins 37 - 18. The knowledge I gained from this was that, being put into the deep end makes you learn a lot faster and work a lot quicker when there is a task to be done in a matter of hours. The time scale in which to complete you task is highly important to meet. Also being confident and taking risks in order to get the job done is an important factor. When the pressure is on your shoulders to fulfil the task at hand you become focused and structured. Matt also gave me very useful tips into how a photograph can be shot to maximise its potential through lighting, positioning, scale, exposure and reflections to name a few.  I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and took a lot from it. This experience made me realize that as a designer there are many routes to take to fulfil what you want in life. The good comes with the bad but as long as you enjoying what you are doing you will be a happy individual.

Project Reflection

Below are the final piece for two projects from the third year of University at Cardiff School of Art and Design. 


The Surf.

Surfers Path from Stewart Mackellar on Vimeo.


This was my Student Self-set module, which I found to be my favorite and most exciting project in the third year. I chose a new medium 'After Effects' to create this piece. Being an affluent surfer I wanted to let people experience what I go through in the water, through feelings, senses and sights. I feel that I captured this sensory experience well by playing with the emotional responses such at anticipation, excitement and contentment. I used a program I had not used before to generate skills in a new area to become a much rounded designer. I feel the areas of development are following my feedback, are to intensify the experience of the surf, provoking a greater sense of adrenaline and action in the later part of the video. This video reflects who driven I am to become a successful designer.


I have gained vital skills in After Effects in order to hopefully create other original, thought provoking animations or videos. I feel that with adverts becoming extremely common on the internet whether it be through, adverts on youtube or drop down adverts to display a short animation. To have an added skill to provide a creative team keeps me a step ahead of the game. 




Penguin Book Cover: Perfume. 

This project was live competition brief for Penguin books. Perfume was one of the books to design. The story is about a person with an acute sense of smell, which gradually take over and becomes driven to fulfill his extrodinary sense of smell. He gets engulfed in this process to create the perfect smelling perfume, he eventually turn to the scent of beautiful women, which ends in tragedy. I feel this piece is a strong representation of the story in that I have tried to convey and sense of mystery, by displaying the beautiful woman as in 12 pieces. The hair which come across the page is to bring your eye to the back page where the blur is displayed. The hair blowing in the wind also conveys a theme in the story of how he smells from a distance through the air. typographical treatment I used, is to keep the flowing sense of smell in the script type, also to look feminine to convey the theme. 


I feel this went hand in hand with the brief and was happy with the outcome. 

Personal Reflection

The end is near; am I ready to leave yet? 

YES is the answer. 

Over the three years of studying graphic communication at the Cardiff, School of Art and Design, I have engaged in a large number of tasks, briefs, challenges, problems, lectures, workshops, presentations, exhibitions, talks and even the odd graphics social.

Both in and outside university, I feel I have developed as a creative individual compared to what I knew and thought when I first arrived at CSAD. My working method has improved from the endless amount of practice through the briefs. I have learnt that your working method is a key part to a successful outcome. You need to keep to a time scale in order to leave enough time for implementing the final solution.

Overtime I have realized that the psychological factor in any brief you are given is generally a very important side to consider. Through the third year I have become interested in the psychology side of design, considering who the designer is trying to target and what subtle changes or styles they have made, in order to express every emotion. This is another factor I have become fascinated with and that is how emotion in design can be expresses before people get to read into the deeper meaning. This has helped me realize that emotion in design plays a big part to the cognitive thoughts when your work is first looked at.

From working with my peers and having group projects set I have gained a lot more confidence in my pushing my ideas forward which is now one of my strengths. This I found to be a key part of being a graphic designer because if you lack confidence and cannot communicate your ideas they will be looked over. Working as a team helped me realize, that your job is to work to your strengths and in a group if everyone’s strengths are in different areas it is a complete package. This also made me realize where my weaknesses lie, which I have been able to reflected on and improve.

Outside of university I was lucky enough to get work experience with two companies one being ‘Prontaprint’, which was situated in Dublin and the other being a freelance advertising Photographer ‘Matt Cant’. Through both of these experiences I developed my understanding into the working world outside university, which seems to be aimed at, not so much the research but more on the development and final outcome to be produced quickly and efficiently. 

To widen my knowledge with a media previously explored very little I joined on to a photography night class, which gave me the skills I needed to fulfill my projects and experiment with a new media. Whilst finding myself as a designer I acquired a love for photography, which has been shown in previous projects. I feel now that it is important to know what makes a good picture from composition to filters and effects. Also using your own imagery in briefs I find rewarding. In the last year I have learnt how to use ‘After Effects’ an Adobe program that seems to be kicking off in the design industry. These skills will hopefully give me an edge when it comes to future employment and to stand out in amongst the crowd.

I feel in order for a graduate student to have more of a chance in the competitive world of Graphic Design, they must have a something different about them. With viral advertising is being on the forefront of design and quirky innovative advertising, I will further develop my skills in After Effects to become of a professional standard and this will provide me with a bonus feature to my over all abilities as a graphic designer.

To conclude I feel my time here at Cardiff School of Art and Design has proven as a ladder of experiences and personal development to prepare me for the thriving creative industry that is ahead of me.  

Self Evaluation

Here is my Self Evaluation all about the 3 years I have been at university. I will be describing where my strengths lie, what I'm doing after the degree to further my creative life and to also looking to how I have developed as a Graphic designer technically and personally. 

1  What have you enjoyed the most about the course?

- I have enjoyed Being able to develop my knowledge and skills in Graphic communication, technically, visually and verbally.

- Being around a group of up beat, outgoing and confident creative individuals for three years, has been an excellent opportunity and really brings your confidence up while generating ideas etc. 

-  Also gaining knowledge through live briefs about what to expect and what standard work has to be done in the 'real world' is an exciting opportunity to boost your profile.

2  In what ways do you think you have developed or changed during the last year?

- I have become aware of the importance of understanding the psychological factors when developing a solution for a brief, is. You must understand your target audience before you design for them. 

- Become aware of the fast pace you have to work and develop your ideas to keep on top of your targets. I have learnt that by keeping your eye open and getting involved with anything an everything that inspires you. Also to never take thing at face value and find out about them first, trying something new.

-  This may sound stupid but I have realized that to become an original graphic communicator the focus must be emphasized on COMMUNICATING in a range of ways to fulfill your clients needs.

- My skills on illustrator, Indesign, Aftereffects have vastly improved this year developing my potential hopefully to get more of a chance in the future.

3  What do you think your strengths are in relation to Graphic Communication and becoming a designer or working/training in a related area?

- My strengths are definitely idea development stages and potential solutions, which will benefit when working in a team. 

- I have a keen eye for typography and the ability to work well with layout and housetyle.

- I think it is a key part as a graphic designer to not just have the technical skills but to be confident about expressing your opinion about others as positive criticism. Also I am confident to approach and talk to anyone  who I can benefit or ask for an opinion in order to benefit me.  As well as this I have the confidence to approach and feel comfortable talking to people I do not know.

4  What has hampered your learning?

- The room decreased in size to become a small room with 3 tables which hardly inspired creative space and not having laptop I found I was working at home a lot.

-  My working process for the dissertation was slow, finding it hard to cope with the dissertation whilst focusing in on other projects. If I was to do it again I would have got the bulk of it done in the summer.

- The lack of Screenprinting workshops, which took 2 year to arrive, for our final project.

5  If you work outside college (voluntary or paid), what skills do you think you have gained or developed through doing this?

- Matt Cant - Advertising Photographer. I really learnt how the real world works from a briefing to the print off in a matter of hours. A huge reality check was the sheer pace that everything happened. It was exhilarating.  

-Prontaprint - Ireland, Dublin. Gained skills in Quark Express, developing business cards, also how the creative process works on the when going to print. I learnt some vital information to about what needs to be checked before going to print.

-Tesco's/ Millenium Stadium/Swalec Stadium - Cardiff. I have learnt that I do not want to be in a job that involves stacking shelves and cashing up or serving people you would rather punch. Saying that these jobs have kept my mind elsewhere and have been a vital ingredient in affording equipment and ink for my coarse. 

6  What plans do you have after you finish the course to continue your development as a designer or related profession and make further progress in your field?

- Matt Cant has been in the creative industry for 20 years now and he has kindly offered me to work as his second Photographer at his photoshoots for the Saracen rugby team. I have previously done this a couple of times and have loved it. This is also a possible lead to other work in the creative industry through Matt and will go from there.

- I am going on Snowboard season in Canada of which have been contacting companies out there to get some work experience for so fingers crossed I get lucky. I will be documenting this trip in order to take full advantage of the experience while snowboarding out there.

- Potential client in Wrexham I am waiting to hear back from relating to a job opportunity with a creative design firm newly built there.

Is Google Chrome faster than the speed of light?

I found this video on the CreativeCriminals blog and just thought it was a really clever way of showing the speed of Google Chrome web browser. Awesome stuff!!

Animated Graffiti

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.


This is an animation I found about two years ago and have just remembered about, thank god, because it is awesome. Take a look. The work is done by street artist Blu, Bolognia.

Concrete Eclipses

London Based street artist 'Isaac Cordel' produced these inventive scenes he called 'Cement Eclipses'. This Involved placing concrete human figures in the urban environment, suggesting reasent issues with the world. To see more click here

The Ash Occurrence

Airspace Rebooted from ItoWorld on Vimeo.


After the recent air travel disturbance from Volcanic ash, there has been a couple of designs and documentations in a very visual language.  Here is a video on Vimeo found on the Creative Review Blog. Take a look.

ilovedust...i love screens!

ilovedust design agency created this beaut of a poster through screen based media. This makes me really want to do a screen based design for my final project but I am not trained in the arts of the screens, I will and ween my way through Howard Gardens (local campus) and find an art Student to show me how its done.

3D animation on Rochester Castle

ACDC Vs Iron Man 2 - Architectural Projection Mapping on Rochester Castle from seeper on Vimeo.

Just found this video thought you might like it!

Berlin Paint Mob

13 Galloons of paint were dumped across the junctions of the busiest road  Rosenthaler Platz in Berlin last week. The cars waiting at the lights became spontaneous volunteers to participate as brush to spread the paint into the junction. This enhances the excitement about going to Berlin in the summer! It's good to know the creative scene is still jumping the gun.

When Elephants hit the Waves

An advert from Accenture directed by Thierry Poiraud. I thought I had seen everything but an elephant surfing, this is one well trained creature!   

Mobile Typography

Amandine Alessandra shows here her innovative way of advertising on the streets and dodge the tax charge for that space. This type can can change with the movements of the human body, varying the message or words displayed by the partitioners. Take a look at her human clock.